The Creation of the Soul Society of England
by Traban16
Summary: Soul Society found the secret Wizarding World! Now Central 46 plots to use Harry Potter for their own schemes for the Soul Society. Too bad they went to Head-Captain Yamamoto for help with their plans. Now Harry's life will never be the same...
1. Soul Society Found the Wizards!

**Soul Reaper, Harry Potter! Yeah, but I'm kidding a little. Harry will be a Soul Reaper… of sorts…**

**Anyways, as for why this story came about. I read some of the other HP/Bleach stories, and it made me think about something. Why is it that with each of these stories, the only "Heaven" or Soul Society that people mix HP or other stories with, the people always turn Harry into a character already in Bleach, or they give him a Japanese name. I always thought that Soul Society couldn't possibly be the only "Heaven" out there for people to go to. It's my favorite one so far, but come on! I'm sure that the Potter-verse has it's own, so this is the story of it's beginning. The squeal to this will be of how it works with the Japanese Soul Society through Aizen's betrayal and the Winter War.**

**Chapter 1: Soul Society Discovers the Wizarding World**

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><p>The Captains and Lieutenants of the Soul Society were lined up in their normal places for the meeting. Captains of the even-numbered Divisions were on the left while Captains of the odd-numbered ones were to the right, giving wide space to whomever was to sit in the chair that headed their meetings.<p>

Hiruzen Shihoin yawned from lack of sleep with his grinning granddaughter standing two steps behind him and one to the right. Yoruichi Shihoin, the Lieutenant of the Second Division, couldn't help but be amused at her grandfather. He was muttering about being awoken right after he had finally fallen asleep, and his vocabulary and language were so colorful, too!

The newer Captains, like Shinji Hirako of the Fifth Division, Love Aikawa of the Seventh Division, and Kirio Hikifune of the Twelfth Division were all greatly amused at his mutters as well. Even the older Captains like Shunsui Kyoraku of the Eighth, Jushiro Ukitake of the Thirteenth, Retsu Unohana of the Fourth, and Ginrei Kuchiki of Sixth were all smiling as one of their fellow Seniors cursed Yamamoto's name to the lowest pits of Hueco Mundo for awaking him.

"I see that we are all here then." an aged and hardened voice said as everyone fell silent. The Lieutenants stood up straighter and the Captains lost their mirth as the eldest of them all came into the Captain's Assembly Room.

Shigekuni-Genryusai Yamamoto was a man like no other. He walked with power, spoke with authority, and gazed upon all with a fair eye. He battled enemies some couldn't even dream of and reached levels of power some hadn't thought possible until meeting him. So, it stood to reason that when he entered the room with a grave and aged look on his face like some had never seen before, they were all instantly worried about the reason for the meeting.

"I must apologize for having woken you all at this unthinkable hour." Yamamoto started as soon as he took his seat at the head of the room with a tired sigh, "But, it was for very good and very grave reason. As you all know, there are more than one type of Hollow."

"Yes, Head-Captain. There are the normal Hollow, the Gillian, the Adjuchas, and the Vasto Lorde… Oh, and the Arrancar!" Captain of Squad Three, Rojuro Otoribashi or more commonly known as Rose, said as Yamamoto nodded.

"That question was rhetorical, but fine…" Yamamoto said as Rose chuckled sheepishly, "Those are not the only class of Hollow; there is still one more." Yamamoto said ominously as Shunsui tipped his hat while Jushiro looked horrified.

"You can't mean… No, we banished them long ago to the Human World where no one resided! They should have killed each other and died off." Jushiro said with a quiver.

"No, it seems that they thrived and evolved to meet their survival." Yamamoto said, "However, the people of then tamed them and have since used them well. They have punished the wicked with them."

"Umm… Head-Captain, sir… What are you all talking about?" a brave Lieutenant asked.

"Yes, I must apologize again. I sometimes forget how old I am, and how young some of you children are, Lieutenant of Squad Two; Yoruichi Shihoin. We are speaking of a rare breed of Hollow that were banished for their attack on the dimension of the Soul King."

"Rare breed? What could they do?"

"They were able to suck out the soul of any living being without having to kill them first." Jushiro answered, the very thought freighting him as it did when he was in the Academy before the banishing of the creatures.

"What? How? That should be impossible!"

"It was very possible, young Yoruichi Shihoin. At least, for those breed of Hollow. However, we are getting off of the topic. The reason for this meeting is because they same breed of Hollow are being converged on a single spot. Normally, this wouldn't warrant much attention, but the reason for their convergence does."

"What is the reason, Head-Captain?" Unohana asked as she gazed at the sage-like man.

"They are being used as prison guards and torture beings." Yamamoto asked as everyone grew pale.

"But, how? To torture someone by having their soul sucked out-"

"Stop, Jushiro. As I have said, these Hollows have adapted to survive. They are now able to feed off of the positive of a soul, rather than sucking one out instantly. They enjoy the despair and hopelessness of their newfound powers. This power also allows them to make a person relive their worst memories." Yamamoto said as he opened his heavily narrowed eyes to gauge the reactions of the room. Most were looking a little (if not a all) paler just at the thought of that kind of torture.

"So what are we expected to do about it?" the gruff Captain of the Eleventh Division asked uncaringly.

"It is not only for that matter which this meeting has been called. The Stealth Force was deployed after this information reached the ears of Central 46 from some of the souls we have taken in due to this Hollows. And it is from the Stealth Forces report that Central 46 wanted this meeting to take place as soon as possible." Yamamoto informed them as everyone glanced at Hiruzen, who looked as alert as ever.

"It seems that the ones who were able to tame this banished breed of Hollow have a power much like our own. They simply call it magic, but we know it as Kido. They were able to use their most impressive prowess in Kido to tame these Hollows, and it is for that the Central 46 is worried." Yamamoto said, not bothering to stop Jushiro from stepping forth.

"So Central 46 is just afraid of them just like they're afraid of those newly discovered Quincy people? Will they have us go to war with these newfound Kido-users like they had us police the Quincy?" Jushiro asked hotly as Ginrei closed his eyes along with Retsu and Hiruzen. Shunsui tipped his hat to obscure his face from view while the others looked on blankly.

The Lieutenants were not so experienced in masking their emotions as they openly gaped at the very thought of having to fight people who could become Soul Reapers like the Quincy could. These people, in the World of the Living, couldn't be that bad for them to kill them... could they?

"No, we will not. They, unlike the Quincy, are not interfering with the Hollow extermination and balance of the worlds." Yamamoto said, much to the relief of many in the room, "Myself and the Kido Corps Grand Captain, had gone to meet one of these individuals a few days ago before calling this meeting. The one I met with was the leader of this group of Kido-users. This… Minister of Magic… was rather friendly and humble. He explained what the… Dementors, that's what they call the breed of Hollow were used for and how they have been a secret society for over a thousand years so far."

"What? A thousand years?" Kensei Muguruma, the Captain of the Ninth Division, exclaimed in wide-eyed disbelief while the others gaped at the implication of that simple comment.

"Yes, and there is more. They even have an Academy for training their Kido-users. It was founded nearly a thousand years ago by four powerful individuals. We have identified them as Godric Gryffindor, Helga Hufflepuff, Rowena Ravenclaw, and Salazar Slytherin." Yamamoto said as Shunsui tipped his hat back.

"Them? Founding a school for Kido-users? Why I never…" Shunsui said as Jushiro nodded.

"Who are they?" Mashiro Kuna, the Lieutenant of the Ninth Division, asked cutely as Kensei's eye twitched.

"They were former Captains that are now… retired." Kensei said as the other Captains nodded.

"Moving along, these Kido-users have a name. They call themselves wizards, and most perform their Kido with the use of a focuser, or wand, as they call them." Yamamoto said before he sighed, "Anyways, these… wizards are too be watched closely by our Stealth Forces and any other Soul Reapers whom happen to come in contact with them. If you do, then you'll notice that they mainly operate in the European area, and have a higher than normal spiritual presence. Their Kido is just like ours, coming from the spiritual power they possess. The reason I brought up the Dementors was because the prison they are now made to guard, Azkaban, is one for the most serious of law-breakers. We will be made o watch them as well, for the Dementors are not to be taken lightly." Yamamoto finished with a stamp of his cane to the floor, the effect echoing throughout the room.

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><p>It wasn't until many years later that anything to warrant the attention of Soul Society came about. There had been many situations in which the Soul Society's Thirteen Division could have stepped in, but Central 46 forbade their intervention on the grounds that the living could handle their own problems. So those of the Division were made to standby and do nothing while the likes of Grindelwald and Voldemort terrorized the Living World. They were sit and obverse as many witches, wizards, and many other beings lost their lives.<p>

However, it wasn't until over a century after the Soul Society's discover of the Wizarding World, that the subject of Wizarding World changed for many.

"And so, we will not have them hunted-" Yamamoto was saying until a noise caught everyone's attention.

The doors to the Captain's Assembly Hall were opened abruptly as a lone messenger ran in and knelt before the Captains.

"What is the meaning of this?" Yamamoto asked as the man bowed.

"Sir, the Stealth Force has just sent an emergency message to you and the other Captains. It entails the movement of the Dementor-class Hollows from the wizarding prison of Azkaban to the training Academy of Hogwarts." the messenger said as he kept his head low.

"Why would they do that? Surely they must have a reason." Jushiro asked as the messenger nodded.

"The Stealth Force reports that a man by the name of Sirius Black escaped their prison, and they have sent the Dementor-class Hollows to Hogwarts in order keep the children there safe."

"What do you mean?" Yoruichi asked as from here place as the Captain of the Second Division.

"The wizards believe that this Sirius Black is going after… Harry Potter." the messenger said as many of the Captains looked shocked.

"Harry Potter? But why?" Jushiro asked, sharing a look with Shunsui.

"Whose Harry Potter?" Kenpachi Zaraki asked as the others looked at him.

"He's a boy who that Dark Lord Voldemort attempted to kill twelve years ago while only a baby. Apparently he survived a one-hit Killing Kido that no one else has been able to and in doing so reflected it to defeat this Voldemort. We've had the Stealth Force watch the boy for any signs of power, and have gotten many reports that he is in fact very powerful for his age." Jushiro said as Shunsui nodded.

"Apparently the kid's gotten to Hogwarts, and his very first year there he once again defeated this Voldemort and protected a stone of great power." Shunsui said causally as Kenpachi scoffed.

"What great power?" Kenpachi asked with a roll of his eyes.

"It was called the Sorcerer's Stone and was used to increase the life span of two humans. After Harry Potter protected it, it was handed over to us for it's destruction. Head-Captain Yamamoto had use _Ryujin Jakka_ against it in order to finally destroy it as nothing else would work." Jushiro answered as Kenpachi looked only slightly impressed, but it being Kenpachi was saying something.

"In the kid's second year at this school, he defeated a creature at the level of an Adjuchas-level Hollow with a sword he apparently pulled from a hat. The kid's a natural Soul Reaper through and through. He even managed to kill a dark spirit that haunted a book. The spirit was impression of a much younger Voldemort." Shinji said with a shrug as Shunsui tipped his hat so only his grin would show.

"Okay, now I'm a little interested." Kenpachi said as he looked at the messenger, "You, tell us what this has to do with us."

"Right, Captain. Central 46 has heard this message, and requests that two Captains and their Lieutenants be placed within the school." the messenger said before his voice dropped lower, "They also request something that is to be off the records."

At that mention everyone in the room grew wide-eyed and shocked. Central 46 only wanted the darkest of mistakes and underhanded of things to be off the records. The Quincy incident was one of them, and that was the destruction of an entire group of people until there were no more than a handful of them. Yamamoto's eyes were open and alert as he gazed down at the kneeling messenger.

"What do they want of us? We will not kill another group simply because they see them as a threat to their power." Yamamoto said firmly as the messenger shook his head.

"No, Head-Captain. They request that the ones placed on duty at the school… abduct one of the children."

"What? How could they ask that of us!" Jushiro yelled in outrage as many of the other Captains seemed to shared the anger. Kisuke Urahara was but one of them.

"But it's not just any child. They want… they want… Harry Potter…" the messenger said quietly as the room grew quiet for quite some time. Yamamoto looked every bit of his old age as he slumped back into his chair, his hands resting on his cane which was actually his sword; the mighty _Ryujin Jakka_.

"Why…?" Yamamoto asked as many of them looked at him in shock. Was he actually considering it.

"Due to a study of the boy's home life, and his power and abilities, Central 46 felt him to be the best candidate for the… start of their new… project." the messenger said as many of the Captains exchanged looks.

"They want to start a new branch of some kind? Like the Kido-Corps?" Kisuke asked as he figured that had to be the only reason.

"Yes…" was the messenger's only reply.

Yamamoto seemed to think long and hard on this, his eyes closed to the world around him while the other Captains knew he would be the final voice in the decision. Yoruichi glanced to Kisuke as he looked to the ground in intense thought. Unohana, Ginrei, and Rose all closed their eyes. Kenpachi was growing restless while Shunsui and Jushiro were exchanging worried looks. Love, Kensei, and Shinji were having whispered conversations with one another as they stood next to each other. Finally, after ten long minutes of thought, the Head-Captain opened eyes suddenly and gave the messenger a piercing look.

"We shall do as the Central 46 request of us, but we shall do so on our _own_ terms. Nothing shall get back to them on this "off record" mission, and we shall only confirm it's completion or not in the end. Do I make myself clear?"

"Yes sir, Head-Captain!" the messenger said as he decided flash-step would be a much better (and quicker) retreat.

"Sir, you can't honestly be serious-"

"I am, Captain Aikawa. If we don't, then the Central 46 will merely find our subordinates whom will. This way, I shall make it for the benefit of everyone involved." Yamamoto said as the assembled Captains gave him curious looks.

"Head-Captain… just what do you plan to do?" Shinji asked as Yamamoto gave him a look, his eyes twinkling in amusement and mirth. When the Head-Captain got up to mischief, everyone shivered at the thought.

"Don't you worry, Captain Hirako. I have a plan."

And it was with those words, Harry Potter's fate was sealed.


	2. Harry Potter, the Boy Who Saw… Nothing?

**I'm starting a POLL to see if Harry and the other wizards who are turned to Soul Reapers (whether like Ichigo was by sharing the powers of a Soul Reaper and still being alive, or just dead and a Soul Reaper. To be honest it doesn't matter) should either keep their wands, have their wands turned to Zanpakuto, have both, or their wands are their Zanpakuto.**

**The point is that if they keep their wands, do they get Zanpakuto? If they keep their wands and never get Zanpakuto, they'd be stunted at a level of high Kido mastery (because no ordinary Soul Reaper could do spells and charms for anything) and not be able to use Shikai nor Bankai.**

**_Example:_ Harry is in a fight with a Hollow, and he pulls out his wand. High-level blasting curse later, the Hollow dissolving into nothingness. Harry is later in a fight with an Espada. The Espada comes at him fast and he throws up a shield charm, but after a barrage of attacks, that's shattered. Harry conjures a sword to fight with, but with being made of his energy, it's broken after a while (this seems to happen in Bleach a lot, actually). Now Harry's made to keep his distance while firing off spells like a madman with a machine gun, hoping that one or more of them hit their mark.**

**Or do their wands permanently get turned to Zanpakuto like the normal Soul Reapers? The problem with that is that they'd all need a release. It'd have to be different for each person, and how would their abilities go? Just like all other Soul Reapers, they'd be totally different from one another in neither every way. This option would be time consuming, but I'd be alright with it. I've actually got a few in mind right now, mainly for Harry, Draco, Snape, and Hermione.**

**_Example:_ Harry is in a battle with Aizen (or insert any villain you want to, don't care), and he's forced to release his Zanpakuto even though he doesn't like to. He does it and out comes… a Dementor (or something equally surprising whether stupid or terrifying). He is equal to Aizen and to gain the advantage he quickly executes his Bankai, even though he hates it more than anything. He does Bankai (insert Bleach special effects for awesomeness factor) and out of the cloud of smoke comes… Harry as Voldemort (or something to the same effect as before)! Harry wins the fight, but hates himself afterward.**

**Then comes the last choice: if they get Zanpakuto, do their Zanpakuto revert back to their wands when they give a release command. This creates the chance that they can do normal magic in a fight if they require it, and that they can fight sword-to-sword with any foe that uses them. It also always for each Wizard-turned-Soul Reaper to have a different non-wand Bankai as a major power boost.**

**_Example:_ Harry is in a fight with Gin and he's pushed to draw his sword. Fight ensues and Gin releases his Zanpakuto to surprise attack Harry. Harry is then forced to release his Zanpakuto as well. He does and his old Holly and Phoenix wand is back in his hand. He firing off spells and junk like nobody's business. Gin uses his Bankai, and even though Harry doesn't like to use his much, he does so anyway to defeat Gin. He releases his Bankai, and out of the smoke Harry's… Master of Death (or something to that epic effect). He defeats Gin, but hates himself afterward (seriously, this kid has that kind of complex).**

**Oh well, please VOTE when you see the POLL up, and I hope that you enjoy this chapter.**

**Chapter 2: Harry Potter, the Boy Who Saw… Nothing?**

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><p>Harry Potter angrily stormed through the castle of a school he knew to be Hogwarts. His day had started as crap, and had only progressively gotten worse every five minutes! First there was the black cloaked thing that had attacked him on the train. Second, was the fact that he had fainted from the attack and everyone knew about it. Third, was that fact that he heard someone screaming, but <em>apparently<em> no one was! Fourth, was that fact that when they got off the train, he had seen someone who no one else did. And lastly, he swore that the shadows were following him no matter where he went!

He had tried to get away from every, hence why he was on the seventh floor corridor while the Welcoming Feast was going on in the Great Hall. He hated the stares people were giving him, and the whispers they shared with one another even more than his last two years. And that was saying something! This year he felt like he was some kind of animal on display, or a circus attraction that Dudley had once bragged about seeing. He was not a freak, dammit! He was human just like them, and there was no reason to stare, _goddamnit_!

Harry didn't even realize that he had been stomping while his mind was clouded in frustration and anger. He was just so furious at how the day was turning out. He was sure he heard a woman screaming, he was positive he saw a Hogwarts student with a chain in her chest, and he was damn well correct when he said the shadows around the school were following him.

"Hey, do you hear that?" a voice said as Harry stopped his fuming long enough to be shocked anyone was even close to the seventh corridor while the Welcoming Feast was going on.

"Come on Derrick, let's just go back to the dungeons. This floor always gave me the creeps." a mature girl's voice said as Harry froze. Dungeons? Were these two Slytherins?

"No way, Amanda! The dungeons are freezing! Merlin, it's no wonder Draco is always trying to follow Potter around! I would to if it was a good excuse to get away from those cold as Merlin's frostbitten trousers." the boy said as Harry looked vaguely confused. He knew Malfoy tried to get him in trouble, but following him around everywhere? That was just a little weird.

"You know why Draco does it. He… she… _Draco_ can't help it! Draco's a Veela, and Draco wants Harry Potter. Though I can't blame him... her... _Draco._ The guy's really sweet, kind, and everything good in a guy. It's no wonder Draco and that Ginny girl were fighting over him in the halls of the train earlier this morning." the girl said as Harry raised an eyebrow.

Malfoy and Ginny fighting… over him? Malfoy a Veela, whatever that was? Malfoy wanting to be with him? The girl confused as to Malfoy's true gender?

"Ugh, if I see Potter, I'll be sure to kick his ass for making you have those thoughts. Besides, you know about Veela, a male Veela transforms into a female if they're in love with another male. The only thing that hasn't changed about Draco is his hair and eyes. I guess he's always been rather female-like, ya know. Now I want to know what was making that noise. No one disturbs our private time together and gets away with it without being hexed." the boy said as the girl began to protest. Harry blinked when he heard steady footsteps coming from by the staircase that led up to the seventh floor.

Harry panicked. The guy was already looking for a reason not to go back to the dungeons and hexing Harry Potter (who the guy's girlfriend had just admit was nice) would be just the perfect excuse. Add that to the fact that Harry was sure he'd be humiliated… again, and you got one panicked Harry who started down the hall toward the other way.

"I'm telling you Albus, he isn't up here. He'd be in the owlery before coming up to this part of the castle simply to get away from a few teasings." a sharp voice cut through the air as Harry's feet stopped just past a tapestry of some guy teaching trolls or something. Right then, Harry didn't care what was on the thing as the voices and footsteps of Minerva McGonagall (though she'd probably give him detention if she heard him call her b her full name) and Albus Dumbledore were drawing closer to him from the stairs opposite the ones that the two Slytherins were coming up from the other side of the floor.

Harry turned on heel, thinking that he might be able to rush past the two students, but then he stopped past the other end of the tapestry as he was sure the two students were at least Fifth Year students and could easily get him with a few upper level spells. The guy sounded like he wanted anything to get away from the dungeons, and a detention would do the trick. Harry walked back the way of the teachers, but then he stopped just past the tapestry as he didn't want to be dragged down to the feast or his dorm only to here the others whisper and see them point at him.

He just kept pacing in front of that tapestry, trying to choose the lesser of two evils, all the while thinking that he wanted to be hide, to not be found by any witch or wizard. He wanted to be away from all their eyes, and to hide anyway from student and teacher alike. He didn't care about a thing other than no one finding him.

Then there the answer was. Harry had turned to go back the way of the two Slytherins, but stopped as he saw a door. It was just there, as if it had been there all along. Harry really didn't care at all at this point. Hell, it could be a door to Voldemort and he'd still be glad to take it. After a second's pause to thank Magic for the life-saver, he lunged for the door. He quickly opened it and slipped inside, being careful to close the door silently.

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><p>Harry closed his eyes, his back resting against the door and waited. It only a few seconds later he heard McGonagall harping the two Slytherins for being up on the floor and probably breaking rules at that with their being of different genders, did he breathe a sigh of relief. He breathed another when he heard Dumbledore say that they should get back to the feast, and not punish the two Slytherins. He heard the guy complain that he wanted disciple, but Harry didn't dare laugh. Their footsteps growing steadily further away, Harry's back slid down the door while he allowed himself a few moments of peace.<p>

It was, however, when he opened his eyes did he get a whole new level of tension. All around in the room were people in black ninja-like clothes, some in robes of the same color, with swords going about their business. Harry wasn't sure if the door had been a one to a parallel universe, but he looked up and saw since the door was still there he could get back.

Hey, he had said Voldemort, and since this obviously wasn't the psycho, Harry saw no harm in looking around, because for one reason or another, these people didn't seem to notice him.

Harry walked through the waves of strange people, looking at them as if he were in a museum. Some were in small groups talking amongst themselves. Some were off toward the corner of the extremely large room practicing with their swords, or fighting each other. Some were at computer consoles debating and working like scientists would with a project. Harry looked about and was growing increasing more amazed with what he was seeing. These people may not have noticed him yet, but the things they were doing were amazing. One had just thrown a fireball from their hands at a target while another had shot out lightning. It was incredible, especially when two of the ninjas fighting had disappeared from sight and reappeared exchanging blows only to repeat the process a number of times without even looking tired!

Maybe these were some of the protectors that he had been told of?

"Hey, who let the kid in here!" a guy's voice called out as Harry stopped wandering and looked at the guy. The guy was pointing at him, and soon all talking quieted as they all looked at him. Harry stared at the floor, knowing he was finally busted and that they'd send him down to the feast.

"Ahh, leave the kid alone. He probably can't see us anyway, so it doesn't matter. Just be sure he doesn't get caught up in the Stealth Force's training area." a girl said as the guy and the others nodded, going back to their business as Harry blinked.

They thought he couldn't see them? Why? We they supposed to stay hidden or something? Maybe that's why they were all in the room together? The Ministry had wanted them to stay out of the students' way and out of their sight as well. Maybe by him having found the room they were in, he broke the enchantments that hid them from his sight.

Maybe they were the shadows that kept following him?

Harry shook is head, doing a quick spell to see that the Welcoming Feast would be going on for at least another hour. He quickly waded pass the black-clad people and made his way over to the scientist. Magically scientist had to be more interesting than the regular ones. They were magical!

Harry was right in his thoughts of magical scientist being more… interesting than normal ones. The first one of them Harry saw was… a clown! Yes, or at least Harry thought so, a clown. He wore face paint and everything! The guy was either a clown, or a robot like in one of those movies he got to see from a class field-trip. Though the guy's temper was nothing to sniff at. The guy was like a big kid. He threw things, yelled, and raged on about something.

"Damn these Dementors to Hell! The Squads can't even get close to the damn things without being brought to faintness! What the hell am I going to do about my research! I mean… the Division's analyst on them to ensure the protection of those kiddies out there." the clown-faced guy said as he slammed a fist on the giant computer console.

"Third Seat Mayuri-"

"That is Vice President Kurotsuchi to you while we're here!" the clown shouted as the girl who was addressing the guy rolled her eyes. The girl wore the black robes of the others, but hers were cut short for a skimpy skirt like design. She wore a pair of square-shaped glasses as she gave the clown, whose name was Mayuri Kurotsuchi, a bored look.

"Well then, _Vice President_ Mayuri Kurotsuchi, please keep it down. Some of us have better things to do than act like spoiled brat who don't get their toys when they want them. The Stealth Force is doing all it can to get you one of the dementors, but these things take time." the girl said as Kurotsuchi glared at her.

"Well tell them to hurry it up! If they can't get me one by the end of this week, I'll go out there and get me one myself!" Kurotsuchi raged as the girl looked to be getting agitated, her hand at her side clenched into a fist as she closed her eyes. Harry could faintly hear her counting to ten before cursing and snapping her eyes open.

"Look here, you bug-eyed clown-faced bas-"

"Whoa, whoa… What's going on here, huh? What's with all the yelling? My lovely Lisa? Mayuri?" a laid back voice lofted through the air as Harry turned. Walking toward the pair was a man of impressive height. He was tanned, and looked like one of those people who laid about on the beach all day. He wore his black robes loosely, but over them was a white coat. However, over the white coat was a pink flowery thin coat that was draped over his shoulders. Atop his head was one of those Japanese straw hats he had seen one of Uncle Vernon's clients where when they visited the house and he was made to cook.

"Nothing, Captain. It's just this guy from Twelfth Division being an ass." the girl, Lisa, said as she jabbed a thumb in Kurotsuchi's direction.

"I need one of those damn dementors so I can start the research! I don't care how you obtain one, just do it! How are we going to protect those students if I can't find a weakness in them?" Kurotsuchi said as he turned away from both the guy and Lisa. Harry though got the feeling that the clown didn't really care about protecting the students even though he had brought it up.

"Alright then, Mayuri. We'll get you one of them. In fact, I'll go… myself." the guy said with a sigh before he gazed around, but his eyes looked on Harry soon as he tipped his hat up, as if he were seeing things.

* * *

><p>"Umm… Lisa?" the guy said, blinking at Harry, who tried to look as if he didn't see anything.<p>

"Yes, Captain?" Lisa replied, steeping beside the guy.

"Is that a kid in here? One of the students by the looks of him?" the guy asked as Lisa looked over at Harry. Harry couldn't stop his cheeks from coloring as the girl gave him a once over with her gaze.

"Yes it is, Captain. Is there a problem?" Lisa said as the guy rubbed his chin in a thinking gesture.

"Can he see us is the real question here." the man said as Harry discreetly tried to move out of sight without them realizing he could see anything.

"Don't know, Captain. One of the unseated members said to just let him go about his business." Lisa said as the man was still rubbing his chin.

"Hey, kid!" the man said as everyone around turned to Harry. Harry just kept walking away as if he didn't hear anything, steadily making his way toward the door.

He was there, so close. That was, until a hand landed on his shoulder. He didn't even realize that he had tried to run to the door as he gazed up at the guy with the pink coat and straw hat. The man looked down at him with a smile that was both amused and teasing.

"So you can see us, huh?" the guy said as Harry's throat went dry. He didn't respond, thinking of all the trouble he could be in already.

What if they sent him to prison? What if being in the room was illegal unless you worked for the Ministry. What if he had only been allowed to stay in there was because they thought he couldn't see anything, and if they knew he did they'd kill him?

All that and more crazy theories went through Harry's mind as Shunsui Kyoraku waited for the boy to respond instead of stand there shaking like a leaf while gazing up at his awesomeness with wide eyes. Seeing that his impressive figure had obviously stunned the boy to greatly to reply, Shunsui turned to Lisa, who flash-stepped to his side in an instant.

"Hey, kid, you're not in any trouble. I just need you to answer a few questions for me. Then you're free to go. That is, if you can see and hear me." Kyoraku said as he lightly shook Harry by his shoulder. Harry blinked, and Kyoraku smirked. He had got 'em.

"O-Okay…" Harry replied as Lisa's eyes widened slightly. So the boy could see them, huh.

"Well then, that answers the question of if you can see and hear us. Now then, my name is Shunsui Kyoraku. I'm one of the leaders of this little… operation. Tell me, what's your name?" Kyoraku said as he got down on a knee to get eye-level with the boy.

"H-Harry P-Potter…" Harry answered, still nervous about the whole situation while Kyoraku showed some shock and recognition on his face. Harry did a mental groan as now he was sure the guy would start with the hero-worship or something.

* * *

><p>Shunsui Kyoraku was shocked by very little after living over a thousand years just as a Soul Reaper, but the amount of luck he had was always surprising to him. First, he got to go on this mission and leave all his work and worries behind for his Third Seat. Second, he convinced Jushiro to come with him on the mission. And last, on his first day on the mission the very boy he was sent to recruit had come to them.<p>

Was he one lucky bastard or what?

"I see…" Kyoraku said coolly as he adjusted his hat. He got up and stood at full height as he gestured for Lisa to go get Jushiro. Lisa nodded, and disappeared in a blur as she raced off to find the normally sickly Captain.

"So then, you're the Harry Potter I and my friends have heard so much about." Kyoraku said before he broke into a grin, "Funny… I thought you'd be taller and less of a stick."

Harry nearly fell to the ground in shock as he looked up at the man. He blinked, completely surprised this guy wasn't wanting to shake his hand, thank him for something, or something else that made no sense like all the others had done. Hell, even his two best friends had done it when he first met him!

"Umm… I'm not fed very well…" Harry said sheepishly, still nervous around this guy, and even more so that he wasn't a member of his fan club.

"Oh I know, Harry Potter. Me and my… associates have been keeping an eye on you for quite some time now." Kyoraku said as he glanced off to the side, seeing Jushiro and Lisa flash-stepping toward him, "Here comes one right now…"

Harry looked around, not seeing anyone moving toward them, but his eyes bugged out when two people appeared in front of him and beside Kyoraku in the blink of an eye. So apparently all of these strange people could do that disappear/reappear-thing.

"Shunsui… who is this boy?" Jushiro Ukitake asked with wide eyes as he stared down at Harry in shock and surprise. He would have never imagined finding the Potter boy in the same day they had arrived on the mission.

They were truly lucky to be so fortunate. The Gods must have been smiling down upon them this day.

"Harry Potter, the same one we've heard some much about from the Stealth Force." Kyoraku said as Jushiro and he exchanged looks.

"Oh my… To think we'd find him in a single day. Especially in the same day we arrived…" Jushiro said, gradually getting over his shock as Harry started inching toward the door.

"Umm… listen, I'm sorry if I'm not supposed to be here. I was just looking for a place to hide. I won't tell a soul I was here or what's here, I promise." Harry said as he turned to run at the door, but only slammed into Lisa. Harry's eyes went wide when he was sure she had just been standing by the two men. She felt like a brick wall, and how had she-

Oh yeah… that magic trick…

"I'm afraid you can't leave just yet, Harry." Jushiro said before he looked down at Harry with a friendly gaze, "Can I call you Harry?"

Harry looked up at the new guy. This one just seemed to radiate friendliness and kind-hearted. His hair was white while his eyebrows were black. He looked somewhat pale and sickly, but seemed to be every bit as strong as Kyoraku was beside him. He wore the same white coat over his black robes, and Harry was sure it had something to do with ranking or something like that.

Maybe they were the Aurors that Harry heard about from Ron and Hermione?

"Y-Yeah, sure…" Harry said as Jushiro gave him an even kinder smile. Harry was sure that if he stayed around the man too long, he'd be blabbing his deepest darkest secrets in no time. The guy just screamed "you can trust me", and harry believed he could!

"Well then, Harry, I'm afraid you can't leave here without us explaining ourselves. My name is Jushiro Ukitake, and I'd like you to follow me and my friends here." Ukitake said as Harry nodded dumbly, the man's friendly aura melting his fears away.

Harry really hoped the guy was one of those pedophiles like on the news.

* * *

><p>"Shunsui, do you want to-"<p>

"No thanks, Jushiro. That's all you. I'll just sit back and pipe in a few times." Kyoraku said, already knowing what his friend was about to suggest.

"I think it'd go smoother if we brought in someone to help with the culture shock and difference. Someone whose experienced it all already, and can share a few tips with him." Jushiro said as Kyoraku shrugged.

"It's your call. But who do we know from England that's on the mission?" Kyoraku asked as Jushiro looked at him.

"There's the Head-Captain's Lieutenant, Chojiro Sasakibe." Jushiro said as Kyoraku nodded, knowing the man had more than a small liking for English culture.

"Is he actually British though?" Kyoraku asked as Jushiro shrugged.

"He's the best we've got." Ukitake said shortly as Kyoraku shrugged uncaringly. Lisa disappeared to get Lieutenant Sasakibe while Harry continued to follow the duo toward a door on the far side of the room.

* * *

><p>Just as they were getting to the door, Lisa arrived back in a blur with a man accompanying her. Harry looked up at the man, seeing that he looked like one of the noblemen from his history studies. The man looked to be in his late 40's with yellow hawk-like eyes just like Madam Hooch. He had short silver hair and a pencil-thin handlebar mustache. He wore the same black robes as the others, but under his he wore a white turtleneck. The man looked down at Harry, ad stuck out his hand. Harry blinked at it, before shaking it limply.<p>

"A pleasure to meet you, Mr. Potter. I am Chojiro Sasakibe, Lieutenant of the First Division, but in English it'd be called Squad One." Sasakibe said as he released Harry's hand and gave a small bow of respect. Harry bowed back, trying not to seem like a total idiot who didn't have the slightest clue as to what was going on.

"Umm… thanks, and it's nice to meet you too, sir." Harry said as Sasakibe smiled at him and gestured toward the room.

"Shall we?" he said as Ukitake and Kyoraku nodded, opening the door to reveal a small room with a table and a several chairs.

Harry was sure the guy Sasakibe was of some British decent, as he spoke with a bit of an accent while speaking in a shushed tone to the two men named Jushiro Ukitake and Shunsui Kyoraku. Lisa merely stood off to the side with her arms crossed, looking Harry up and down and not bothering to hide it.

"You'll be quite the looker in a few years." Lisa said as Harry blushed and stuttered out nonsense. No girl nor woman had ever been forward with him before, so Harry merely muttered his thanks for the compliment.

"I'm Lisa Yadomaru, by the way. If you need something, then don't be afraid to ask me." Lisa said as Harry blinked in surprise at the sudden statement.

"T-Thanks. I'll be sure to do that." Harry said, before he took a deep breath and calmed himself.

"Umm, sirs, what is this all about?" Harry asked as the three men in the small room turned to him. Ukitake flashed him another of those winning smiles while Kyoraku grinned at him. Sasakibe took a seat at the table while he gestured for Harry to take the seat on the opposite side. Harry did as Sasakibe linked his hands together while the others took seats.

"Mr. Potter, we of our… organization are here to help protect the students of your school." Sasakibe started as he leaned forward in his seat, "You see, Mr. Potter, we represent an organization known as the Soul Society or "Heaven" as you may know it."

Harry didn't even know when it happened, but in the shock of what he was just told, his eyes grew heavy and the last thing he saw were the others rushing toward him… sideways.

Harry Potter had fainted in shock.

"You couldn't start off with something less… shocking?" Lisa asked as she tried to shake the boy awake.

"I told it'd be best to get the biggest shock out of the way so he doesn't faint every ten seconds with all the information we'll have to cram down his brain." Sasakibe replied calmly, using medical Kido to check Harry over.

"This is gonna be a long day, isn't it Shunsui?" Ukitake asked as he sighed and raked a hand threw his hair.

"It sure is, Jushiro, but it'll be exciting none the less." Kyoraku said with obvious amusement as he and Jushiro stood back while the two Lieutenant checked over the boy.


	3. So Wait… Heaven is JAPANESE?

**Chapter 3: So Wait… Heaven is JAPANESE?**

* * *

><p>"I hope Harry's okay." Hermione said as Ron sighed glumly.<p>

Their friend, Harry Potter, had been missing for the past thirty minutes, and the Welcoming Feast had yet to start. Dumbledore and McGonagall went looking for Harry, but they had come back without him, instead having two Seventh Year Slytherins behind them as the boy look disgruntle and the girl embarrassed. Now McGonagall was going to usher in the nervous First Years, and things were finally about to begin.

"I'm sure he's fine, Hermione. He's a big kid, he can look after himself." Ron said, though even he wasn't convinced otherwise by his own words.

He knew Harry could do it, but why that Sirius Black out and about…

* * *

><p>"Where is Potter?" Snape asked McGonagall next to him. The Irish-witch turned her sharp cat-like gaze on him.<p>

"We couldn't find him anywhere in the castle, but the wards say he hasn't left it since he entered. It was like he… vanished." McGonagall said as Snape muttered something about a room and destroying it.

"I have a clue where he might be, but if he's there he'll be safe. I'm sure Albus thinks the same." Snape said as McGonagall nodded before getting up and doing the sorting.

* * *

><p>"Hey, Draco, where's Potter?" Blaise asked as he noticed the empty space between Granger and Weasley.<p>

"How the hell am I supposed to know? What do I look like? His wife?" Draco snapped as Pansy and Theo rolled their eyes while Blaise raised a brow coolly.

"You wish you were though. Anyways, why so wound-up? I thought you were on the potion?" Blaise said as Draco looked a cross between agitated and embarrassed.

"I am! But I'm worried about him, and I can't sense him anymore. I could a few minutes ago, but then it was like he vanished without a trace. I'm… I'm… scared…" Draco said as Pansy and Theo exchanged looks and then looked around the Slytherin table to see everyone looking at Draco in concern. Though one of the Seventh Year boys was scowling at the table with his arms crossed while the girl next to him looked deeply concerned for both Harry and Draco. Weren't those the two that had been brought in by the teachers? Oh well, didn't matter…

"Listen, Draco, if it makes you feel any better, we'll keep an eye out for Potter. With most of Slytherin's eyes scanning for the idiot, I'm one of us will see him." Pansy said as she patted Draco's arm.

"Thanks, Pansy." Draco said.

"Yeah, unless that crazy Black guy got him. Ya know, then he's probably dead by now." Theo said with a shrug as Draco's head hit the table with a burst of sobs while the Slytherins shot Theo a murderous look.

* * *

><p>"What's up with the snakes? Look." Seamus said as he pointed at the Slytherin table where Draco's head hit the table and the entire table looked at Theo like they were gonna kill him.<p>

"Don't know. Maybe someone finally killed Malfoy?" Dean said just too brightly as Ginny swatted his arm with a chuckle.

"Yeah, then maybe he'll stay away from stalking Harry." Seamus said as Ron and Hermione looked shocked.

"Wait, he _stalks_ Harry?" Hermione asked as most of the Gryffindor table gave her and Ron a look.

"Yeah he does. What, you guys didn't know? He practically follows Harry around like a lost puppy." Neville said, surprising Hermione and Ron with both his statement and his calmly amused tone.

"But, we've never seen him following us." Ron said as Dean rolled his eyes.

"Of course not, you guys are to busy solving mysteries and saving the school/world. What the hell are you anyway, the Scooby Doo gang?" Dan said as Hermione gave him an annoyed look while Ron looked confused.

"What's a Scooby Doo?" Ron asked as Seamus raised a brow.

"It's nothing, Ron. Now let's get back to the point; Malfoy stalks Harry? Why? I know he can't stand Harry-" Hermione said before those around her burst into laughter, even Ron.

"Oh, silly, young, naïve Hermione…" Seamus said as he wiped away a tears from his laughter. Dean was being supported by Ginny while Ron and Neville were heaped together, their shoulders shaking with suppressed chuckles.

"What?" Hermione asked indignantly as Ron turned back to her, still chuckling some.

"Hermione, even _I_ could see the love for Harry in Malfoy's eyes after last year during the… you-know-what we did. I just always thought Harry either didn't want him, or that he didn't notice. But I thought you would-"

"I didn't know. Malfoy _likes_ Harry? Ron, Harry _obviously_ doesn't know! If he did, don't you think he would have _said_ something to Malfoy?" Hermione said fast as Ron shook his head.

"It's probably because of the lure. Harry isn't effected by it, and none of us are because Draco only has eyes for Harry." Neville said as Ron and the twins nodded.

"Lure? What lure? Is this more wizarding stuff I _don't_ know about?" Hermione said as she crossed her arms and pouted. She'd be using her time-turner to spend some _major_ time in the library this year.

"You don't know about Veela-lure? You don't know about _Veela_? Merlin, 'Mione, what _have_ you been doing in the library these past two years?" Dean asked as Seamus and Ginny exchanged amused looks.

"Just tell me about the Veela!" Hermione snapped as the others backed away some.

An angry Hermione was never a good thing for anyone.

"Well anyways, Veela are magical creatures of beauty and stuff like that. They-"

"Ron, let me tell it." Neville said, placing a calm hand on Ron's shoulder. Ron nodded with a shrug as everyone turned to Neville. Neville began explaining Veela to Hermione, the others piping in every now and then as Hermione nodded.

* * *

><p>"So Malfoy's a Veela? That means he could be trying to seduce Harry to the Dark-side!" Hermione said as she covered her mouth while Seamus and Dean exchanged amused looks.<p>

"Ahh, Star Wars references. You can never hear enough of them." Seamus said as Dean nodded. Hermione shot both of them a look that shut them up as Ron and the other purebloods around them looked confused.

"What's a _Star Wars_?" Ron asked as Hermione turned to him with the same look.

"Later, Ron. Now as I was saying-"

"Malfoy can't seduce Harry to _any_ side, Hermione." Fred said as George nodded.

"Yeah, because _he's_ the one being seduced… unknowingly and unintentionally. He's the one in love with Harry anyway. Besides, I don't think Harry is all that effected by Veela-lure to begin with." George said as Fred nodded.

"Also, Malfoy's not a full-Veela. He's at the most a half-Veela." Neville said as the others turned to him.

"How do you know that?" Ginny asked as Neville's cheeks colored a bit.

"I studied ancient pureblood family history the year before I came to Hogwarts. My Gram wanted me to do something just in case I couldn't do magic, so she wanted me to be the Head of House Longbottom early." Neville said, his old habit of being timid rising up.

"House Longbottom?" Dean asked as raised his brow. He should have known the magical world would have royals and such…

"Later. Any who, the Malfoys are all Veela or Half-Veela, and the Blacks are normal witches and wizards, so that would make Draco either a half or a quarter-Veela." Neville said, tapping his chin in thought.

"We'll finish this discussion, later. They're about to start the Sorting." Hermione said in a humph, wanting to know more about the wizarding world, but also wanting to be respectful to her fellow students.

* * *

><p>Harry's eyes drifted open slowly… only to awaken to the feel of someone's soft lips upon his own. He really hoped he hadn't been drugged by Malfoy or anyone, because that crazy dream about people from Heaven was just too much to believe.<p>

"I think you can stop now, my lovely Lisa. He's regained consciousness." Kyoraku said as Harry could feel the person kissing him, obviously Lisa, not stopping at all.

In fact, the young-looking woman was trying to slip him the tongue. When Harry realized exactly what was going on he gasped in shock that the dream had been _real_ and he was in a sense _kissing _an_ angel_. Gasping had apparently been the wrong thing to do as her tongue finally found entrance to his mouth and Harry's mind forgot his own name in the pleasant sensation of his and her tongues doing battle inside their mouths.

"Lisa, stop! This is highly unprofessional of you!" Kyoraku said loudly, though the amused grin on his face wouldn't go away.

Lisa finally slipped her tongue back into her own mouth and gave Harry one last kiss before she pulled away from him completely, straighten her uniform as she wondered when the young boy's hands had been roaming under it. The others didn't seem to notice her as Harry was blinking a mile a minute with a silly grin on his face. Ukitake chuckled at the blank look of joy on Harry's face while Sasakibe looked away with his own amused smile. Kyoraku tipped his hat as he closed his eyes, trying to remember his first kiss.

"Now then, I hope you won't be fainting on us again, Mr. Potter." Sasakibe said as he sat back in his seat with the others doing the same.

"H-Huh? Oh, wait… What?" Harry said, his mind still clouded with the sensations he felt from his first kiss. He hoped every kiss was like that, because if his first experience was bad he might have ended up not wanting to kiss another for a while. Lisa sent a wink at him while Kyoraku gave his Lieutenant a look.

"You fainted, Mr. Potter, and when you did you weren't exactly breathing. So we had Lieutenant Yadomaru here give you CPR…" Sasakibe said before he decided to make the situation a bit more light hearted once he saw Harry's panicked look, "Though I don't think that's _quite_ what brought you back around to the world of the conscious."

Harry cheeks colored as he fought down his silly grin, "I'm sorry, but what you said was a lot to take in."

"We understand that, Mr. Potter. We were all once in your shoes, though we were all dead while you're still amongst the living. Never the less, we hope to help you take in this information with as little fuss and pain as possible." Sasakibe said as Harry nodded.

"Why are you all tell me this? I thought you were trying to stay secret?" Harry asked as Ukitake and Kyoraku exchanged looks. There mission of recruiting him to their side was secret, but the mission of protecting the students from harm didn't really need to be.

"Our mission is a bit of a secret, Harry." Ukitake started as Harry turned to him, "However, since you happened to stumble upon us, we'd like to put things in prospective and help you as well."

"Help me? Why?" Harry asked as Kyoraku looked at him.

"It's mostly for your safety that we're here, Harry. As you may know, there is a dangerous character by the name of Sirius Black after you. The dementors are here to protect the students, and we're here to protect the students from the dementors. Though all of us; dementors and we, are mainly here to keep this Sirius Black from killing you." Kyoraku said as Harry lowered his head. Great, people and creatures putting themselves in the way to protect him…

"Now then, we'd like for you to understand our organization as you're one of the few that can actually see us." Sasakibe said importantly as Harry nodded, "You see, Mr. potter, we are from what you would call Heaven, but we refer to it as the Soul Society."

"Soul Society?" Harry asked as Sasakibe and the others nodded.

"That is correct, Mr. Potter. Soul Society isn't that much different from the Wizarding World here. We're both secret, both have their own military forces, and both are ruled by a royal party and elected officials." Sasakibe said, counting off the similarities on his fingers.

"Military forces? So you're not Aurors?" Harry said, feeling a little stupid once the question slipped out. Of course they weren't Aurors! They had just said they weren't a part of Wizarding Britain.

"No, we're not, Mr. Potter, but we're greatly similar. You see, our police forces are called, in your English, the 13 Court Guard Squads, however, where we're based, it would be referred to the 13 Court Guard Companies or Gotei 13."

"Wait, where are you based? I thought it'd be somewhere around here. Are you French?" Harry asked as Ukitake shook his head.

"We're mainly in Japan. Some of our founding members were from the area of the East, so that's where the Soul Society came to be based at." Ukitake said as Harry looked confused.

"So wait… You're telling me… that _Heaven_ is _Japanese?"_ Harry asked, sounding more incredulous than he wanted to. The three Soul Reapers in the room looked mildly put-out by the question, always hating to answer that when they brought Europeans and others to the Soul Society.

"Yes… mostly. It's _very_ complicated…" Ukitake said as Harry was still waiting for an explanation, "We're not Japanese per say, but we were founded on Japanese ideals, ways, and traditions."

"So Heaven is Japanese." Harry stated as Kyoraku grinned at how the kid was playing them.

"Listen, Harry, the Japanese have a _lot_ of issues that we were repeated called for to deal with. Do you know what the Japanese have to go through each and _every_ year?" Lisa said as Harry shook his head.

"Giant monster attacks, evil villains, massive robots, weird powers, alien invasion, ninjas with demons sealed inside of them, and psychos with _way_ too much time on their hands. All the other nations had normal problems, but the Japanese… their messed up. So when our founding members came to the barren land that was Heaven, they setup a base connected to Japan. Trust me, Harry, hundreds of Japanese people come through the Rukongai a _day."_ Kyoraku said as Harry raised a brow.

"The Rukongai?" Harry asked as Sasakibe sighed.

"In English it is referred to as the Rukon District. It's where nearly every soul ends up once they are sent to the Soul Society. There are 320 districts and they are separated by number and coordinal direction. North, East, South, and West. The common spirits are there, but if you have any spiritual power you're able to become a Shinigami or Soul Reaper by joining the Shino Academy. Then you'll be able to work and live in the capital of the Soul Society; the Seireitei." Sasakibe explained as Harry looked confused as ever.

"Basically, Har, if you can do magic you'll be able to go to the Hogwarts of the Soul Society and become a Spirit Police Officer or as you'd call it a Soul Reaper and fight crime." Kyoraku said as he adjusted his hat while Harry nodded in understanding. Why couldn't the guy just say that…?

"Okay, that I understand." Harry said as Sasakibe sighed.

"Harry, the military of the Soul Society are broken down into three groups. The Soul Reaper of the 13 Court Guard Squads are the first and foremost common branch that people recognize. We combat Hollows, which are most of the time evil creatures who wish to only consume souls to sleet their own hungry. We send souls to the Soul Society through a ritual of Konsō or Soul Burial. By placing the butt of our swords to the forehead we're able to send them directly either to the Rukon or to their noble families in the Soul Society." Ukitake said as Sasakibe nodded.

"The 13 Squads are directly run by the Captains of each Division or Squad as you would refer to it. The Captain-Commander, or more commonly the Head-Captain is both the leader of the 13 Court Guard Squads, and the Captain of Squad 1 as well. The only people with more authority than the Head-Captain are the Central 46 and the Spirit King." Sasakibe said, though Harry noted his tone was more like those that he mentioned couldn't even think to challenge the Head-Captain's authority. Sort of like Hagrid was when he talked about Dumbledore and the Ministry.

"The Spirit King is the royal in charge of all of Soul Society and the entirety of the Spirit World. He lives in his own dimension and almost never issues or even interacts with those outside of his dimension." Sasakibe said as he laced his hands together in front of him and leaned forward, almost as if his next words were to be listened to very carefully because they were important, "The Central 46 is a lot like your Ministry of Magic. It is both the legislative and judiciary branch of the Soul Society. It is comprised of forty _wise men_ and six judges. They pass down laws to all of Soul Society and judge those that break the laws, at least those that warrant their _almighty_ _attention_." Sasakibe said as Harry noticed the sarcasm in his voice, again like Hagrid when he spoke of the Ministry. Harry concluded that this guy must have been the Hagrid to this Head-Captain's Dumbledore.

* * *

><p>"Anyways, Har, back to the three branches of military. You see, the second branch is the Stealth Force. Their basically the ninja of the Soul Society. They do uncover missions, assassinations, and do any information gathers that the 13 Squads don't want noticed." Kyoraku said as Harry nodded. This guy was the simplest to understand.<p>

"The last branch is like the witches and wizards of this world. They are the Kido Corps, and they specialize in magic, or as we refer to it as Kido." Ukitake said as Harry nodded, "They work to understand the Kido that we use and create new ones, and some times their called in to perform high-level magics that we of the other two branches can't do. In fact, most witches and wizards that have come to the Soul Society generally go into the Kido Corps."

"I see… So, the 13 Squads are the normal police, the Stealth Force are the ninja cops, and the Kido Corps are the Auror police." Harry said as the others nodded.

"Each branch have to go through the Soul Reaper Academy though. The Soul Reaper Academy, which is called the Shino Academy, is where a soul would learn all their subjects. History, hand-to-hand combat, Sword wielding, Kido, and the functions of the Soul Society." Sasakibe said as he gestured to the swords they were each carrying.

"The first discipline of Hand-to-Hand combat is know as Hakuda." Lisa said as Harry nodded.

"We don't have any of that here; not even in normal schools, but at least they have Physical Education." Harry said with a shrug as the others exchanged looks, but didn't comment.

"The second art of combat is swordsmanship or Zanjutsu as we call it. It's basically a class that teaches how to use our Zanpakuto to fight against enemies of all kinds. It also teaches how to mediate and connect with our Zanpakuto so we can achieve it's released forms." Ukitake said as he pulled out his own Zanpakuto. Harry gazed at the beautifully crafted sword, remembering his using Gryffindor's sword to kill the Basilisk last year.

"Zanpakuto are generally swords which are our main weapon against our foes; namely the Hollows we spoke of earlier. They're basically our trademark as we Soul Reapers are the only well-known group that wield them." Ukitake said as he laid his sword on the table for Harry to see. Harry gently picked it up, feeling the magic inside of it like he had with the sword of Gryffindor.

"Zanpakuto are capable of cutting spiritual bodies; they are amongst the few weapons which can be used to combat Hollows. Each Soul Reaper carries a Zanpakuto, and each Zanpakuto is unique: as the sword is both a reflection of a Soul Reaper's soul and power, and sentient beings unto themselves. The Zanpakuto's name is also the name of the living spirit that empowers the sword and lends its strength to the Soul Reaper who wields it. These beings can vary greatly in appearance and have their own distinct personalities which match their owner's. Normally, the Zanpakuto spirit can only be seen by its wielder. Otherwise, they dwell in their own "inner world", created within the minds of the Soul Reaper who wield them. As such, each Soul Reaper's inner world is drastically different from another Soul Reaper's and is unique to them. A Zanpakuto's spirit can bring its wielder into its inner world, though Soul Reapers can voluntarily achieve this through simple meditation." Sasakibe said as Harry listened, though he never took his eye off of Ukitake's sword in his hands.

"What's the name of your sword, Mr. Ukitake?" Harry asked as Ukitake chuckled.

"Please, call me Jushiro." Ukitake said as Kyoraku smirked beside him, "My Zanpakuto's name is _Sōgyo no Kotowari_, but in English it means _Law of the Twin Fish_."

"As we said before, each sword is different and each has two _very_ distinct levels of power. The first is Shikai, and is the initial of the Zanpakuto's power. The second is Bankai, the final and most powerful release of the Zanpakuto's power. The difference between the two levels of power are as small as five times and as large as ten times the level of power that Shikai produced. To obtain the rank of Captain, you normally must obtain the mastery of Bankai, which can take as little as a few days or as long as ten years." Sasakibe said, his face a stern seriousness as Harry practically gaped. That kind of power sounded unreal, and two of the people in front of him wielded it.

"Whoa…" Harry breathed out as Kyoraku smirked.

* * *

><p>"Moving on before you faint again. The third method of combat is known as Shunpo or flash-step in English-"<p>

"I have a question. If you're all Japanese, how is it that you guys speak English so well? You barely have accents at all, as if you've spoke the language all your lives." Harry asked as Ukitake and Kyoraku exchanged looks.

"Like we've said before, Harry, we of the Soul Society are _not_ Japan, we are just centered there over it's spiritual core. The reason for our English being so good is because once you become a soul in Soul Society language is a barrier broken to all. We of the Spirit World can speak any language to anyone and everyone will simply here us in whatever language they're most comfortable with." Ukitake said as Kyoraku chuckled.

"Come one, Har. You _honestly_ didn't think that Heaven would have a language barrier problem, now did you?" Kyoraku teased as Harry's cheeks heated up while he gingerly handed Ukitake back his sword. Ukitake chuckled as he sheathed _Sōgyo no Kotowari_.

"Moving on…" Harry mumbled as the four Soul Reapers looked at him in amusement.

"Right then, like I was saying. Shunpo or Flash-Step in English is a speed technique which is taught in a class called Hoho or the Step Method. Flash-step is the power to increase our speeds to levels faster than the eye can follow. The entire thing is focused on speed." Kyoraku said as he disappeared from his chair. Harry's eyes widened at the sudden disappearance, but he jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder the next second. Kyoraku was back in his seat before Harry could even turn around to look at the man. Kyoraku tipped his hat so his eyes couldn't be seen, though that didn't stop Harry from seeing the amused smile that spread across the man's face.

"The final discipline is Kido or Magic, as you know it. Our Kido isn't nearly as versatile as your magic, but that may be because we only use Kido for mainly combat purposes." Ukitake said as Harry nodded.

"Kido also incorporates Barrier or Wards as the wizards call them, and Seals or Runes as you once again call them in the Wizarding World." Sasakibe said as he held up a hand and a red energy gathered in it before becoming a giant red ball that lit up the room with a red glow, "This Kido is known as Hado Number 31: Shakkaho."

"There are three branches of Kido. The Way of Binding is known as Bakudo, and it is used for barriers, seals, and other techniques general used for… well, binding. The Way of Destruction or Hado is used for just as the name implies, it is used to attack and destroy those we use it against. The last Kido is Healing Kido and it is used to heal those it is used upon." Ukitake said, the most serious Harry had seen or heard the man in the entire time they had met as Sasakibe nodded solemnly. Harry guessed that Kido had some rather powerful effects, and like all magic he guessed it was to be used sparingly.

"Each spell is graded for it's capabilities, power, and difficulty. The spells are graded from 1 to 99, and one number can be used for multiple spells. Just like the magic here, incantations are required to do a spell, at least until you reach the level in which you don't need them." Lisa said as Harry nodded, remembering Professor Flitwick say the same thing about Charms last year. Harry did a quick time-checking charm and realized that it had been almost two hours since he had hidden in the room. He was just thankful for the curfew not being for another few hours. He liked learning about Heaven and Heaven's military.

Did that sound as… weird as it did to him? What was the word Hermione used… contradictive?

"Anyways, let's move on. The ranks within the Divisions." Sasakibe said as he saw Harry check the time, "There are 20 seated ranks within each squad, and below them are the unseated members. The top most three seats have titles and ranks to them. The first is the Number One seat, which is the Captain; like Captain Ukitake or Captain Kyoraku here. Captains are generally allowed to do pretty much anything within the laws of the Soul Society. And have supreme authority within the respective squads. They can even create or change the division's specialty."

"I see, so you two are the top commanders of your Squads." Harry said as he glanced between Ukitake and Kyoraku. He figured they were Captains, and his mind was still in awe and curiosity as to just how much power they wielded.

"Then there's the rank of Lieutenant, like my lovely Lisa here or Lieutenant Sasakibe. They are Second-in-Command at the sides of their Captains and are normally the second strongest member within their squads. They are like the executive officers, and oversee the daily operations and such of the division. If anything happens to the Captain of a Squad, then the Lieutenant of that Squad would step-in to fill the Captain's place until another could be assigned or promoted." Kyoraku said as he leaned back in his chair.

"The other rank is the Third Seat. It's title is that of Assistant Adjutant, but it really doesn't mean much. It's basically the same as Lieutenant, but not as glamorous." Ukitake said with a chuckle as Harry cracked a smile.

* * *

><p>"That's basically all you need to know about the Soul Society. So, any questions?" Sasakibe asked as he leaned forward once again.<p>

"One has been plaguing my mind since you all started. What's the real reason for telling me all this? I know it isn't just to put things in prospective. You guys want something from me. It's the only reason people ever bother to explain… anything!" Harry said as the other exchanged looks before Ukitake sighed.

"You're right Harry. We do need something of you." Ukitake said sadly as he looked down at the floor.

"What is it?" Harry asked as Kyoraku took off his hat, revealing his long and wavy brown hair even more while he laid the hat on the table.

"We need you, Harry James Potter, to be our liaison for the Wizarding World and Soul Society. In essence, we need you to become the first Wizarding Soul Reaper."

For the third time that day, Harry Potter fainted, though at least this time he was caught by Kyoraku.

"He really doesn't take big steps that well, does he?" Ukitake said as Sasakibe shrugged and Lisa did the same.

"Maybe, but can any of us say that we'd be any different in his shoes?" Kyoraku asked as the others merely looked at each.

That boy, Harry James Potter, would certainly change things.


	4. Harry Potter Adores the French!

**Chapter 4: Harry Potter Adores the French!**

* * *

><p>"<em>So… Any questions, Mr. Potter<em>?" a rather stereotypical Englishman asked Harry from across a table while leaning forward in his chair.

"_One has been plaguing my mind since you all started. What's the real reason for telling me all this? I know it isn't just to put things in prospective. You guys want something from me. It's the only reason people ever bother to explain… _anything!" Harry said as the three in the room exchanged looks before a white-haired man sighed.

"_You're right Harry. We do need something of you_." the white-haired man said sadly as he looked down at the floor.

"_What is it_?" Harry asked as a tanned laid-back man took off his funny-looking straw hat, revealing his long and wavy brown hair even more while he laid the hat on the table. The young woman to the side, the one who had kissed him rather passionately earlier, was looking him dead in the eyes while the others didn't.

"_We need you, Harry James Potter, to be our liaison for the Wizarding World and Soul Society. In essence, we need you to become the first Wizarding Soul Reaper_."

* * *

><p>And that did it, Harry jumped up in his bed like the world around him was on fire. His breathing was quick and erratic while his eyes darted all around for the four strangely dressed people. It wasn't until he couldn't find them did he calm down and take a deep breath. He finally gazed around and realized that he was in his bed at the Gryffindor dorm.<p>

Had it all just been some crazy dream? Harry shook his head. No, he remembered the kiss from that woman too well for it to have been a dream. That and the magic sword the white-haired man, Jushiro Ukitake if he remembered correctly, had allowed him to hold. He could still feel it's power pulsing against his fingertips like the flow of the sea and the roll of thunder.

Harry looked around the dorm room for the Third Year boys. No one else was in the room, but Harry could hear voices down in the Common Room. He shrugged off the covers, seeing that he was still fully-clothed aside from his shoes, and got out of bed. Seeing that daylight was coming through the windows, Harry realized that he must have been placed in the dorm and slept through the night. After placing his shoes on he made his way downstairs.

And as soon as his feet touched the floor of the Common Room, everything went quiet. Hermione and Ron were exchanging looks as if they were debating on telling him something. Seamus and Dean looked to barely holding in laughter at some kind of inside joke. Neville still looked at him in apology for his slip of letting Malfoy hear that he had fainted while the twins were sending him amused looks, and Ginny seemed to be caught in a mixture of emotions. The others in the Common Room were either shocked he had appeared, or their normal wide-eyed whispering. Whether it was at his fainting spell with the Dementor, or at him just being Harry Potter he couldn't careless.

"Hey…" Harry said awkwardly, feeling slightly self-conscious with all eyes on him.

"Hey…" everyone in the room said back just as awkwardly. Harry sighed, knowing that it was going to be very weird for a while. He shook his head, and before anyone had the presence of mind to stop him, walked out the portrait hole that led to the dorm.

He had initially planned to go into the Great Hall for an early breakfast, but decided against it. It would only be a larger version of the Common Room incident, and he didn't feel like dealing with any of it.

He also thought about going up to the Seventh Floor and talk to the Soul Reapers for the day (since it was Sunday), but he wasn't sure if the door to their area would still be there or not. Plus he didn't want to have to come up with an answer to their liaison-thing just yet.

There was also the fact that he didn't think he could look at that Lisa woman without his face being red and thinking about the kissing they had done.

So, with almost nowhere to go, he decided to simply wander the castle until he was lost and needed help… which he doubted he'd be able to do (the getting lost part) and ask for (the help part)…

* * *

><p>"…<em>and bend your knees in tight, but it's the pelvic-thrust that really drives 'em insane! Let's do the Time Wrap again<em>!" Harry sang to himself quietly as he wandered the castle. He wasn't even sure where he was in it anymore, only that he was somewhere in the dungeons.

"I'm telling you, he's back! And he's down here somewhere!" Harry heard, his head jerking upward to gaze down the way where the excitedly giddy voice was coming from. He had almost thought it was Malfoy, but it sounded even more girl-like than Malfoy's voice usually was.

Harry decided he didn't care who it was, because he was in the dungeons. That meant that nearly all of the people down in the dungeons were Slytherins and Harry didn't want to fight anyone; not even a Slytherin. He quickly ducked behind a giant stone serpent as he heard rapid footstep approaching his way.

"Draco, listen to yourself! Harry Potter down here in _our_ dungeons? Not even he's brave or stupid enough to be down here for no good reason! Now come back into the dorm and drink your potion before somebody sees you!" another girl's voice, this one he recognized as Pansy Parkinson, said insistently as Harry listened to the first set of footsteps never wavering from their stride.

"I don't _want_ that stupid potion! I want my man! He's down here, I know it!" the first girl snapped back at Pansy as Harry's eyes widened. That girl, whose voice was somewhat musical… was Draco Malfoy, the spoil arrogant brat of the Malfoy family? Then it really hit Harry like a ton of bricks. Malfoy was a _girl_ and in _love_ with _him_?

"Draco, even if he _is_ down here, it _doesn't_ matter! You can't just jump his bones, he has to _want you_!" another voice… Zabini, Blaise Zabini… if Harry remembered right…

"Ever since Draco hit puberty he's… _she's_ been so moody and lustful for Potter. Just let her go after him. I'm sure she'll come crying back to us once Potter rejects her." those words made Harry a bit angry at their laid back tone as Harry recognized the voice of Theodore Nott. Harry knew he wouldn't just outright reject… well, _anybody_! Besides, if Malfoy was a girl and… in _love_ with _him_, then he'd give him… Umm… _her_ a fair shake… as long as she had some kind of an explanation for the past two years of utter jackass-ness.

"_Shut up_, Theo! Harry would never reject me! And I am _not_ moody _nor_ lustful!" Draco's voice snapped back as a cool chuckle was heard further back.

Harry was having a mental war with himself as he could choose between finding out what the deal was with Malfoy loving him and being a girl disguised as a boy for perhaps the past two years or staying hidden and dealing with it at another time. Finally, when the footsteps were nearing the corner and serpent he was hiding behind, Harry made his choice. He decided that since he had wanted a distraction from the awkwardness of the school and the events of last night anyway, he'd use the awkwardness of Malfoy being a girl and in love with him as a distraction.

Harry took a deep breath, readying himself for anything that might happen before he stepped out from behind the serpent. He pretended to be walking toward from the corner the group of four were coming around. He jammed his hands in his pants pockets, trying to look at ease, cool, and calm as possible.

However, nothing he did prepared him for the fact that Malfoy had skidded to a stop at the corner, and with a cry of his name, jumped on his back as if they were married and hadn't seen each in ages. Malfoy's friends came around the corner just in time to see him fall back with Malfoy atop him while snuggling into him and giggling like a school girl… which Harry supposed Malfoy was.

"Malfoy? What in the name of Merlin?" Harry said, playing the part of surprised easily because he truly was. He didn't expect the… daughter of the calm and cool Lucius Malfoy to _flying-hug_ (or _glomp_ as the term was) him like some Japanese cartoon from the television.

"Oh, Harry! I was so worried about you! I c-couldn't sense you anywhere, and I thought something b-bad had happened! I went to sleep thinking that Sirius Black had gotten to you, and even your friends didn't know where you were!" Draco said, or more of sobbed into Harry chest as Harry mentally realized that he was now taller than Malfoy; girl form or not.

"I'm fine, Malfoy… now can you please let me stand up? I think I hurt my back." Harry said as he gently got Malfoy off of him. Harry got up from the cold dungeon floor, dusting himself off as Malfoy's friends moved to Malfoy while she too stood up. He looked at her, and saw that she was and had actually cried on him while he had been trapped in her death-grip of a hug.

"Draco, maybe we should go back to the dorm. We don't want Potter to see the _potion_ gone wrong, _right_?" Pansy hissed into Malfoy's ear, but all that got her was a cold glare and a growl from Malfoy. Harry noticed that Blaise and Theo had their hands inside their robes really to pull out their wands at a moment's notice, though Theo looked like he didn't care at all what happened. He also realized that Pansy had made-up a potion going wrong to cover-up the fact that Malfoy was a girl and in front of him.

"I'm not going _anywhere_! That was the first time I couldn't sense him, and I've been worried sick. I want to talk to him!" Malfoy yelled as Blaise turned to her, though not completely as that would leave Harry out of his sight.

"Draco, maybe _him_ seeing _you_ now _isn't_ the best time. _You_ can see Potter, later. _After_ we sort out this whole _potion_-thing." Blaise said firmly as Malfoy actually surprised even Harry by baring teeth at her friend.

"I will see, talk, and even _kiss_ him right _now_. I don't care about that stupid potion. I need him right now." Draco said as Harry blushed at the mention of kissing, unconsciously remembering Lisa's tongue on his tongue.

"I say let her do what she wants. If she gets hurt it'll only help her to see that I'm right." Theo said with a shrug.

"Umm… do _I_ get any say in this? Ya know, since it's apparently _me_ Malfoy wants?" Harry asked as they all turned to him, giving him a look.

"No… _No_, you _don't_, Potter." Pansy sneered out at Harry as Malfoy glared at her.

"Don't talk to him that way." Draco said as she glared at Pansy. Pansy finally sighed and rolled her eyes before throwing her hands up in defeat.

"Fine! Get hurt and humiliated! I don't care! …hormonal bint…" Pansy said as she stepped away from Malfoy, looking tired. It was only then Harry noticed that all of them were still in sleeping wears. Malfoy and the other boys in silk pajamas while Pansy wore a long sleeping gown.

"Harry…" a soft voice said as Harry blinked, coming back to reality as he realized he had been debating sleeping wear in his mind. Harry looked to see Blaise had given up too as Malfoy had calmed down enough to gingerly call for him, though she still looked like she wanted to do nothing more than jump his bones and bear his children.

Weird…

"Yes, Malfoy?" Harry asked coolly, but he felt a little guilty when Malfoy looked away from him with a sadden and hurt expression.

"I wish you wouldn't call me that…" Draco said as Harry sighed.

"Sorry, but it's not like you've truly given me a reason to be friendly with you in the time we've known each other." Harry said, trying to keep his voice as cool as it was.

"I'm sorry… I was just trying to impress you… You were always so difficult though…" Draco said, more to herself than Harry, who raised a brow.

"Difficult? All you had to do was act like a _civil_ person and you would have had my friendship." Harry said with a shake of his head and a sigh.

"I'm sorry… I can be civil." Draco said, so submissively that Harry blinked in shock a few times.

"Mal… Draco, what's with you? I've been hear a lot of… strange things lately." Harry said, casting a glance at Malfoy's friends who looked too calculating for his tastes.

"What things…?" Draco asked quietly with her hands together in front of her dark green silk pajamas.

"I overheard a couple of Slytherins… and then you when you were coming down the corridor. What's this about being in _love_ with me? For _years_ now apparently? And _following_ me?" Harry asked, trying not to seem too astonished by the thoughts as Malfoy winced.

"I was just trying to get closer to you. To be a part of your life other than the stupid way I keep messing up in front of you." Draco said, regaining some of her old-self as she grew more comfortable with her Veela-nature that had roused her from sleep.

"Well then you could have simply told me instead of _stalking_ me. And you still haven't addressed the being in love with me part." Harry said as Malfoy fidgeted nervously in her spot cutely. And then he was a just a little scared of himself as he thought of Malfoy as cute, but reminded himself that it was a girl Malfoy who had apparently been in love with him.

"It started from the first time I was around you. Madam Malkin's Robes Shop. Yeah, I knew it was you, but I didn't want to seem like a fan-boy… umm… girl. My parents told me that you being raised by muggles was a lie cooked up by Dumbledore to hide you with some wizard family in London. I tried to make it seem like you were any other person, but when I saw the confusion on your face-"

"Wait, how did you see me? You didn't even look my way." Harry interrupted as Malfoy shrugged.

"I have excellent peripheral vision. It comes with being quarter-Veela." Draco said as Harry supposed it was true since Hagrid told him being mixed with magical creatures enhanced the senses greatly, "Anyways, I made it seem like I didn't know who you were at all, and after I realized all the stupid things I said to you I locked myself in my room until it was time to go to Hogwarts."

"The train…" Harry groaned out before he could stop himself. Blaise looked amused at him while Pansy looked murderous. Theo smirked a little as Malfoy shot them all a look.

"Yes, the train. I had tried so hard to be nice. I had rehearsed what I was going to say and everything. I even practiced it twenty times in front of these three before I left my compartment." Draco said, looking off as if he were reliving the memories before her face darkened and she scowled, "And then _Weasley_ just had to go and _laugh_ at me. Before I knew I had insulted him… and you were looking at me like I had killed your pet. I was so mad that… _Ron Weasley_ had blown my big chance to make a great _real_ first impression on you and win your love that I started being… well, what most people see of me when I'm angry. Then Weasley's rat attacked us and it went all downhill from there. I went back to my compartment, cried, ranted in anger, and then cried again." Draco said with a shrug, but Harry could see that the careless shrug was faked and stiff.

"Then came the morning before our first flight lesson. I promised myself I wouldn't do _anything_ to screw-up the chance to _at least_ get you to tolerate me-"

"But I _do_ tolerate you… Draco. Just in _small_ portions." Harry joked, trying to make the mood lighter. It worked as Malfoy's friends were chuckling and Malfoy had cracked a smile and blushed.

"So, I came up from the dungeons, ready and raring to show you the better side of me. I was going to storm up to you and kiss you." Draco said as Harry's cheeks heated up. Harry had to admit the idea of kissing was fast becoming one of his favorite activities and obsessions, "But _these_ three talked me out of it by the time we got to the doors, so I settled for opening my mail. My parents had sent me some particularly good sweets that morning, so I decided to treat myself and break my diet since I had actually worked up the confidence to approach you after my few last blunders like the shop, the train, and Snape's class…"

"The… thing Neville got from his Gram and the flying lesson." Harry said, his arms crossed as he raised a brow coolly. Before Draco could say anything, Harry raised a hand to quiet her and anything she might say, "Listen, I understand. You were raised to be just what you are; a spoiled, arrogant, egoistical brat that knows nothing of a hard day's work or the pains of poverty. I get it."

Draco's hopefully face fell as her eyes watered. There went her only chance at him… and all because of who she was…

"However, I believe I'm the better… _person_ here, and so I'm willing to give you a second chance and a fair shake. I mean, you've been rotten to me and my friends, but you haven't done anything really nasty to us besides trying to get us in trouble. I mean, you're no Voldemort." Harry said with a shrug, but had to roll his eyes when all four Slytherins flinched back at the name, "Oh Merlin… Listen, just promise me you'll try and be civil with my friends, and then we can see where this… _thing_ can go." Harry finished as Draco's grey eyes lit up like lightning through a stormy night.

"I promise!" Draco said quickly as Harry shook his head in amusement.

Harry stepped forward, catching Mal-… Draco off-guard. He wrapped his arms around her waist, noticing and realizing that Draco's frame wasn't much different from when she had been masquerading as a boy. He pulled Draco in close while Draco looked up at him, though not by much as Harry was only a nose taller. Draco's eyes were talking a mile a minute to Harry's soul. Draco wanted him, _really_ wanted him! To love him, be there for him, stay with him, and to kiss him now more than anything.

Harry quickly glanced over to Draco's friends. Pansy looked to have begrudgingly accepted Harry's acceptance of Draco. Blaise was giving a rather animated thumbs-up, and Theo was giving them bored glances while inspecting his nails. Though Harry noted the small smile on the Nott boy's face.

Harry pulled Draco into him completely, pressing their bodies together with a gentle squeeze as he licked his lips. He hadn't been conscious for the start of his first kiss, so he wasn't quite sure how to begin. Draco seemed to sense this as she gingerly placed her hands on his face and looked him right in the eyes. Then, as if they were actors in a movie and had been doing it for years, they slowly leaned into one another.

It wasn't as fierce as his first kiss with Lisa Yadomaru had been. It was soft and calm, but it still had passion to it all the same. It was slow, just his lips on Draco's lips as they moved their heads around each other awkwardly as they tried to deepen the kiss. Harry then, almost like a fire had been lit deep within him, placed both his hands on Draco's hips and pulled her into him like they were still miles apart. Draco gasped lightly into his mouth as Harry and she started kissing far more fiercely. Draco moaned into his mouth as Harry took control of the kiss, Draco submitting completely. Draco's hands went from the sides of his face to wrapped around his neck in a perfectly girly way.

Harry was barely paying attention to the world around him. He faintly heard a wolf-whistle, a gaps of shock, a bored sigh, and someone storming up to the two of them like they were on fire. Then, just as he was about to see if tonguing Draco was as good as it had been with Lisa, Harry heard a loud proclamation and the two of them were pulled apart like a brick wall had slammed in-between them.

Harry looked around wildly, his face heated and his breathing erratic as he pulled out his wand. Then he saw who had separated them. It had been Pansy and she was blushing to her dark roots as her wand was held in front of her. She must have done a spell or something to stop them, but Harry didn't really care as he straighten his clothes. Had Draco been feeling him up. Harry gazed across the way and saw Draco was re-buttoning her own dark green silk pajama-shirt.

When had he been feeling her up…?

"That is quite enough of a show, _thank you_. You two are _13 _years-old! You don't need to start _shagging_ each other in the middle of the corridor. You _just_ now decided to explore a _relationship_; _not_ _relations_!" Pansy said, in a very Hermione-like tone of rapprochement and maturity, though the anger and embarrassment in her voice was still notable.

Merlin, it was only then that Harry realized how much he hated that tone of Hermione's condescending…

"Sorry… I didn't even… I'm sorry, Malfoy…" Harry said, trying to get his breathing back under control as Draco looked very flushed where Pansy was straightening her hair. Long… Harry liked, even though he only knew so subconsciously…

"When we're like this, call me Draco, and… it's okay. I can't really complain about it since it was so… Wow…" Draco said as she took a deep breath and looked at her friends, "Umm… Harry…?"

"Yes, Draco?" Harry asked after a breather.

"I can't stay like this while at school. I mean… well… umm… You know…" Draco said, trying very hard to say something while Harry looked at her with a raised brow. Then it dawned to him, and he nodded quickly.

"Oh, yeah, I _completely_ understand… I think. People think you're a boy, and if you suddenly started walking around as a girl and on my arm… Well, more than a few people would be asking questions." Harry said as Draco nodded, smiling sweetly at for some reason, but then a sad look crossed her face as she looked away.

"Yeah… You probably wouldn't want anything to do with me while I'm… well, while I'm in _that_ state. I'd understand if you-"

"Don't be silly!" Harry said way faster than he was thinking, "I don't care what your gender is. If you're willing to be civil, then I'd be more than happy-"

Harry didn't even get to finish his reassurances to the female Draco as she rushed him and consumed him in a bone-crushing that only girls could give while squealing like a boy band had just entered Hogwarts… Now that Harry thought about-

"Oh Harry, you're so wonderful! I love you so much! You're the best!" Draco said faster than even Hermione could talk before rushing over to Pansy, who looked just as giddy and excited for reasons Harry didn't understand at all, to share another girlish squeal. The two girls rushed off toward the Slytherin dorm after a fast-paced conversation that never finished complete sentences, leaving three dumbfound boys who looked at each other in utter bewilderment.

"… The hell…?" Blaise said as Theo blinked twice. Harry was just plain gaping at the sped the two had rushed off at. Theo and Blaise sighed as they walked over to Harry a patted his shoulder.

"Welcome to the family. Draco's our little Drakie and she's like a sister to us." Blaise said in a sweet tone, but the look of complete sugar made Harry think twice about his regards to Draco for some reason.

"Yeah, she may be a spoiled brat, but she's ours." Theo said as he clapped Harry on his other shoulder, opposite of Blaise while Harry got the feeling they were trying to intimidate him.

"So that means, if _you_ break _our_ little Draco's heart…" Blaise said, his mirthful eyes cold as winter as he glared into Harry, who was not feeling the frost at all. Harry looked over to Theo to see the Nott giving him a fierce look.

"Then we'll break _you_." Theo finished with a strong squeeze to Harry's shoulder. Harry raised a brow as he glanced between both boys.

"Right… I'll be sure to keep that in mind…" Harry said as Blaise gave him another thumbs-up with a way too cheerful look while Theo smiled slightly. Then, without warning, both dashed away from him and off to the Slytherin dorms where Harry got the feeling they'd be talking about him for hours.

Seeing that he was standing there alone in snake territory again, Harry simply decided to go to another part of the castle and try some more of his luck. He wondered if any other girls would be willing to kiss him? You know, to become better at it.

Yeah… that was definitely the reason…

* * *

><p>"Enter." the strong and stern voice of the Head-Captain said as Chojiro Sasakibe opened the doors to the ancient Soul Reaper's office.<p>

"Sir, I have come back with a mission update for the first day." Sasakibe said as he knelt at the door.

"Rise up, Chojiro and speak your report.. What news do you have?" Yamamoto asked, stopping his writings as he gave Sasakibe his full attention. After all, it wasn't everyday that they could be calling war down on themselves by practically kidnapping the Savoir of the Wizarding World.

"Sir, we have made contact with the target… or rather, he made contact with us." Sasakibe said as he walked in front of his Captain's desk. To his credit, Yamamoto's heavily narrowed eyes opened enough for Sasakibe to see the wine-colored irises showing the Head-Captain's surprise.

"How did he make first contact with you all? You were supposed to be well-hidden. That was what Minister Fudge said." Yamamoto practically growled as he pushed his paperwork aside to lay his arms out on the table.

"The target just so happened to stumble upon us, Head-Captain. Him being able to see when it was reported before that he couldn't surprised even Captain Shihoin." Sasakibe said as Yamamoto sighed.

"How is this possible?" Yamamoto asked himself as Sasakibe stepped closer to the desk.

"Sir, we've had the Vice President of Research and Development, Mayuri Kurotsuchi look into the matter." Sasakibe said as the Head-Captain raised a brow.

"And the results?"

"Non-conclusive, sir. He says that it's because of the limited amount of equipment they were allowed to bring and the fact that they'd need to invent entirely new equipment-"

"Please spare me young Kurotsuchi's cries for more money in the Twelfth's budget. I will be placing more money into the Department of Research's budget regardless, but perhaps this assignment will get the entire Soul Society a greater budget." Yamamoto said thoughtfully, plans forming on how he was going to blackmail Central 46 into increasing their spending budget and working conditions.

Heh, heh… Who needed unions when you were the only thing keeping 46 old bats from being killed by Hollows?

"Right then. We managed to send off the samples we got from the target while he was unconscious to Captain Urahara. The man speculates that it had something to do with the Dementor attack the boy suffered from while on the train ride to the school."

"Hmm… I will have to speak with that Minister Fudge about all this. Sending tamed Hollows in to protect a school full of children is not only dangerous, but could be deadly as well…"

"Right again, sir. Also, Mayuri was able to get one thing from the boy's samples; a spiritual read-out." Sasakibe said as he reached inside his robes and pulled out a fresh stack of papers. He handed it to the Head-Captain as the man read over the paper carefully. He was silent for a few minutes, placing the paper down as he steeped his hands together and laced his fingers.

"… Is what I have just read true?" Yamamoto asked carefully as Sasakibe's only answer was a nod. Yamamoto sighed, leaning back in his chair as he gave Sasakibe a firm look.

"Proceed as I have instructed before in the case of this… information. Relay the same to Captain Kyoraku and Captain Ukitake. I shall send two others in a week's time to relief Captain Kyoraku and Lieutenant Yadomaru of their stations. That is all." Yamamoto said as Sasakibe bowed.

"Sir, before I leave, who shall be relieving Captain Kyoraku and Lieutenant Yadomaru… if I may ask?" Sasakibe said as Yamamoto glanced at him while he went back to work.

"You shall see… That is all."

* * *

><p>Harry pulled away from the rather strange blonde girl he had just kissed. The entire kiss had been different from the others. Kissing Draco made him fill like he was in complete control, as did kissing Susan from Hufflepuff. Kissing Daphne from Slytherin felt like he was doing battle for dominance, but in the end she too submitted to just letting him kiss her. But this girl… Luna Lovegood was her name. She was… Wow… Harry had never tried drugs before, but kissing her made him dizzy and see things that weren't there. Like those grumpy-looking creatures that were floating over the two of them.<p>

"They're called Nargles." Luna said dreamily as she too looked up at them.

"They look mad." Harry said as he stared at them, seeing them grow more transparent with every few passing seconds. He guessed the high he was on wasn't a very big one.

"They are, but I think it's only because you kissed me sooner than you were supposed to." Luna replied, not at all troubled by the fact that he had essentially walked up to her, asked if she had a boyfriend, and when she responded no; kissed her.

"When was I supposed to do it then? I didn't mean to upset them." Harry asked, glancing from the creatures which were disappearing from his sight to Luna, who was smiling at nothing in particular.

"Around your Fifth Year or Seventh. Nargles hate when things don't go as they foresee." Luna said as she looked at Harry, and he got the feeling she was gazing deeply into his soul.

"Oh… Can I still keep kissing you though? It's wonderful." Harry said honestly as Luna smiled at him, but shook her head teasingly.

"I don't think Draco would appreciate that so early in your relationship, especially since I wouldn't be the only one you'd want to kiss besides Draco." Luna said airily, though the teasing undertone was still there.

"You know…? You _knew_?" Harry said as he stepped back from her.

"Oh yes, of course I did. I wouldn't let a stranger kiss me if I didn't know them, Harry. I also know about Susan, Daphne, and the fact that you'll kiss Hermione and then my friend Ginny next." Luna said as she moved pass Harry, who was too shocked to speak. Was she some kind of Seer? She must have been because he didn't remember telling her his name, "I'm not a Seer, Harry, you told me your name after you asked me if I had a boyfriend. Draco is angry with you. I'll go and talk to her… or him as Draco is now. If he slaps you for seemingly no reason, then don't be alarmed."

She could read minds, too! Oh, now he definitely wanted to get to know her! Harry watched as Luna picked up her books from the spot they had originally been before he had her up against the corridor wall where he was still leaning. She straightened her top and adjusted her skirt as she sent Harry one last smile before walking off, a deliberate sway in her hips as he was sure she knew he was watching.

Harry didn't truly care about the consequences at the moment. He had only just discovered the wonderful world of kissing, and the beautiful appreciation of lips. If Draco slapped him or anything else, Harry would give Draco the best kiss of Draco's 13 year-old life to reassure her of his wanting her. Harry felt so good, he'd even kiss Ron if his friend would let him, but he doubted Ron would. Though he was sure Hermione needed a good snogging to stop being the mini-McGonagall she was.

Harry practically danced all the way back to the Gryffindor dorm. Getting through the portrait, he hummed a tune as he entered, and everyone turned to him the same way they did when he had first awoken. Now though, Harry's mind was so clouded with sensation, he didn't care what they did as he nearly skipped over to his friends, who were staring at him weirdly.

"Hello, friends!" Harry bellowed out joyously as his friends exchanged looks with one another. He had been gone nearly five whole hours and this was the first time they had found him… or rather, he found them.

"Hey Harry… you seem… well." Neville said as Harry smiled brightly and nodded.

"And I feel well, Neville. I can now say that I have a newfound appreciation for the French. I'd even go so far as to say I adore the snail-munching Frenchies! I adore the French, Neville!" Harry said far too chipper for their liking.

"Harry… are you okay…?" Hermione asked as Harry looked at her with a glint in his eye that made her feel… uncomfortable… She shifted her legs some as Harry smiled at her.

"I'm better than okay, Hermione. I'm grand, spectacular, never better! In fact…" Harry said, and before anyone knew it, he pulled Hermione out of her seat by her hand, spun her around and into him before the two locked lips like none of the Gryffindors had ever seen.

Ron stood there gaping and wide-eyed like a fish out of water while Ginny wasn't much better. Both Weasley kids were blending with their hair as Neville fainted. Seamus and Dean were hooting and cheering, wolf-whistling and all with the twins while Lavender and some of the Gryffindor girls were squealing like Draco and Pansy had while talking in a foreign language; girl talk.

While all of that was going on, Harry and Hermione didn't care. Harry was exploring the wonders of Hermione's dry, yet still soft lips. When Harry pulled away from her, Hermione looked like she had gotten lost somewhere up on Cloud Nine and still needed help getting back down to Earth. Harry moved away from her as he walked up to Ginny.

The surprising part was the only female Weasley sibling blinked once, and before Harry knew it, she had jumped atop him and wrapped her legs around his waist. He was only thankful for the chair that had been behind him as Ginny crushed her lips against his. This kiss wasn't like the others. This one wasn't controlled by him because he was still in shock over her jumping him, so it was crude, messy, and rough with their lips simply rubbing against each others. Harry quickly got over his shock though as he wrapped his arms around Ginny's waist and pulled her against him while he took control. It would only be years later that he'd realize his lust for control in intimacy stemmed from feeling no control within his own life and the way he lived it. Ginny soon melted like an ice pop in his hands, though this time Harry didn't hear many of the vague cheers. He heard Seamus and Dean, but not the twins.

Harry broke apart from Ginny, who was nipping at his neck… which he had to admit felt kind of good, only to see that Ron had joined Neville on the floor for a nap. Seamus and Dean looked at him as if he were their muggle God or magical Merlin, and the twins… well, they seemed to be caught in a twist between cheering him on, horror and anger that he was snogging their baby sister so thoroughly, and pride that he was the one who was doing it instead of some other bloke. Finally, they sighed with defeated shrugs as they began making wolf-whistles at him again. Harry glanced over to see Hermione was still misted over and had sat down on the chair that had been behind her.

"Ginny… can you stop that?" Harry asked as Ginny looked at him before sighing.

"Yeah, but why the sudden snogging every girl?" Ginny asked as she stayed straddling him.

"Not every girl, just the ones I was interested in. Ya know, the ones I see around school and think "Hey she's pretty, but she'd never go for a guy like me", and all that. I got half of them, but the others have boyfriends." Harry said with a shrug as Seamus, Dean, and the twins came near him. He vaguely realized he was sitting near the fire.

"Oh, and what about little lady Malfoy, Harrykins?" Fred asked as he and George exchanged amused looks.

"I've talked to Draco this morning, and… he's willing to at least be civil with you guys. Plus, he tastes like a good cup of tea." Harry said with a pleasant sigh before he felt Ginny grind her bottom into his lower regions.

"I'm here, Harry, and Malfoy is way down in the dungeons. Pay attention to me while I'm atop you, would ya?" Ginny said as Harry smiled apologetically.

"Speaking of that…" George began as he and Fred exchanged twin looks.

"Would you get off of him like that! What would Mum say!" both twins roared as Ginny squeaked in surprise and bolted off of Harry, sitting down next to Dean who looked far too amused.

"Umm… Hermione!" Harry called as Hermione turned to them with the same airy look Luna seemed to have.

"…Huh…?" Hermione answered back as though she was lost in her own mind. Harry got up, afraid he had actually broken her.

"You okay?" Harry asked as Hermione nodded dreamily.

"Yeah…" Hermione replied as Harry frowned. He grabbed her hand and kissed it as he pulled her up out of her seat and shook her lightly.

"You with us, Hermione? I'll burn your books if you're not." Harry said as he effect was quicker than he expected. Hermione slapped his arms away and shook her head free of the fog it had been in.

"Simply because you k-kissed me does not give you the right to burn my property or that of the school's, Harry Potter." Hermione said sharply, but only Harry's brow rose as he saw the way her cheeks colored red at the mention of their kiss.

"Don't worry, Hermione, I think this is only a temporary thing." Harry said as Hermione and Ginny both looked a little saddened, "But if you'd like to continue anything, then you could talk to Draco. You too, Ginny."

"Malfoy? Wait, did you just call him Draco? And why would I need to talk to him? What happened while you were gone, Harry? Did you find out about Malfoy being a Veela? Is that why you-"

Hermione didn't get to finish rapidly firing questions at him as he silenced her with his lips and mouth. She didn't respond back at first due to shock and surprise, but she quickly melted into it as she placed her hands around his neck and one of her legs went up. Almost as soon as it started, Harry pulled away from a breathless Hermione and glanced over to an amused audience of five.

"You talk too much, and way too fast." Harry said honestly as Hermione blushed in embarrassment while she gaped at him.

"I've tried to stop the habit…" Hermione muttered quietly as Harry ran a hand through her brushy hair.

"Maybe, but I suppose I did catch you a bit off-guard with that one. Now stay calm for me, all of you, but I and Draco are going to _try_ and explore a relationship together. Draco's even promised to be civil with you."

Hermione clapped a hand over her mouth and stepped back from him as she took several deep breaths. It was all just too much for her to take in one day. Before anyone could do anything though, she went limp and collapsed in the chair behind her. Harry rolled his eyes while Fred and George inspected her.

"She's down for the count…" the two twins said with shrugs as Harry sighed loudly.

"What is with them and over reacting to things?" Harry said as he gestured between Hermione and Ron. The others shrugged as Harry turned on heel, finally noticing that everyone else had cleared out of the Common Room. He could only wonder where they had gone, and how badly Draco would hurt him for cheating not even an hour after they had planned their courtship.

"I'm hungry. What time is it?" Harry asked as he glanced back at the twins, Seamus, Dean, and Ginny.

"It's around evening now. You left in the late morning and wasn't back for lunch. We're still not sure how you even got into your bed last night when one of us had been up there all the time. One second you weren't there, and the next; you were." Dean said as he and the others followed after Harry and out of the dorms.

"I slipped in… unnoticed. Magic and all that." Harry said shortly and vaguely as his stride did not slow, not even sure how those supposed angels had gotten into the dorm let alone snuck him into his bed unnoticed by all. Harry quickly stopped that line of thought.

He didn't want to think about anything that involved the… Soul Reapers…

"Yeah, and we'd love to learn that trick." Fred said with a sneaky grin at George, who mirrored his brother's expression.

* * *

><p>"So Harry, what are your classes?" Seamus asked as Harry stopped dead and tuned to them.<p>

"What are you talking about? They're the same as every year." Harry said as the others shook their heads. George reached into his pocket and pulled out a piece of parchment. He handed the neatly folded paper to Harry, who opened it curiously.

"It's your schedule from the classes you picked over the summer. Remember?" Fred said as Harry glanced over the schedule. He vaguely remembered picking out and talking about classes with Ron, but not so much what they had picked.

"Yeah… Sure I do…" Harry said, not truly paying attention as he looked over the classes. It looked like all the normal stuff, but…

What the _Hufflepuff_ was Divination…?

"Well see here. You have all the normal classes like Potions and Transfiguration, but now you have…" Seamus said, looking over the list of Harry's studies, "Divination and Care For Magical Creatures. So do we! We're all together again this year, mate!"

"That's great…" Harry muttered as he walked, still trying to figure out what Divination could be. It sounded kind of mystical, but he wasn't sure. Soon though he stopped thinking about it, resolved to find out when he got to the class, "Anything else I should be aware of?"

"Well, there's the Hogsmeade trips on the weekends." Ginny said, though her voice was quiet as she knew they'd all be able to go while she was stuck in the class.

"Blasted! I forgot to make my Uncle sign the bloody form!" Harry said as he clenched his fists. That whole thing had been gnawing at the back of his mind, but it was only know that he truly remembered it.

Harry saw that the others were looking at each other in uncertainly, probably thinking they could help him, but didn't know how. He decided he wouldn't let them do anything to get in trouble for his sake as he knew they would.

"Guys, while we're walking, can any of you tell me about… Dementors." Harry said as they all shared looks again.

"We don't know much about them. Just that they're… _vile_." Dean said with a visible shudder as he imagined the creature of their discussion.

"Yeah, but you're little lady nearly pissed… _his_ panties in freight of them while on the train. Ran right into our compartment, didn't… _he_, George?" Fred said with an amused smile as George nodded.

"Yes _he_ did, Fred." George said in a chipper tone.

"Thank you for proving me not a liar, Gred."

"You're certainly welcome, Forge."

"Enough. I need food." Harry said, trying to block out anything that wasn't food at that point. His mind was riddled with so many questions, concerns, and wild thoughts. Before he knew it, the name Riddle crossed his mind and he was thinking about how Voldemort planned to kill him off _this_ year. Harry shook his head, walking a little faster to get to the Great Hall for an early dinner.

* * *

><p>Harry was later glad he did, because as he went into the courtyard to clear his head, Draco came storming toward him in full fury. Harry was actually panicked for a second. His hormones now settled to a normal level and his mind not clouded with the thoughts of soft lips made him frightful of what Draco would do to him for a moment. However, he knew he deserved it. He and Draco had just come to an agreement of at least civil behavior and a possible relationship, but he had gone and probably hurt Draco greatly.<p>

After all, he wasn't sure how he'd feel if he found out the person he had been in love with for years was out kissing others when the person had kissed only just kissed him an hour earlier, and told him they could have a relationship.

Harry stood up from the tree he was resting under, his troubled mind even more troubled as Draco grew closer. The look of anger in Draco's eyes were far greater than what they had ever been, which made Harry realize just how much Draco had either been faking anger or had never truly been angry with him to this level.

Draco seemed to catch Harry's thought because the look intensified ten-fold, the normally grey eyes now a stormy cold like a blizzard. Draco reached Harry's spot, Harry's friends and other students looking on to see what would. Harry saw Draco's friends far behind Draco, each looking very angry in their own right. Harry would have opened his mouth to let Draco and his friends know they were in public, but he found his throat dry and a lump in it that wouldn't move.

Draco's hand was quick and precise. The moment Draco was in arm's length of Harry, his hand lashed out like a whip and struck Harry across his face so hard that Harry was nearly moved from his spot. The pain coursing through his face wasn't what worried Harry. It was the fact that another blow hadn't followed such a vicious first. Dudley certainly didn't stop at one when he beat him, so why had Draco when Harry would have simply stood there and taken them instead of running?

Harry turned his eyes to Draco for the answer, finding his neck a bit stiff from the power behind Draco's slap. He looked at Draco's face, and felt ten times guiltier than before. Harry hadn't seen it before when he was thinking, but Draco's eyes were puffy and red. Tears stained Draco's pale cheeks as he stood there trying to hold them back with no luck. Though Draco's expression didn't show it, Harry could almost plainly see the hurt in Draco's eyes. It tortured him to see such a think, in anyone.

Harry reached out, a shaking hand and gingerly touched Draco's tears while wiping them away with the back of his hand. Draco leaned into his touch, but looked so hurt and uncared for. Harry almost felt like crying himself, but he knew he couldn't. There were people watching them. So, Harry took Draco by the arm and dragged him away back into the castle. His friends and Draco's friends following as fast as they could while Draco cried silently beside him. Harry said nothing and let nothing show on his face as he searched for an empty classroom or somewhere they could be in private. All the picture frames were empty for some reason, but Harry didn't care as he finally found what he was searching for. He quickly ducked into the classroom, pulling Draco along with him as he did. He was sure that he friends had seen him go in as he heard one of them shout something while Pansy Parkinson raged.

As soon as they were at the front of the empty room, Harry hugged Draco to him, letting Draco cry on his shoulder as he stroked his hair. Draco cried like a girl, which made Harry believe all the more that Draco was just that; a girl. Draco's shoulder's shook and he sobbed while tears dampened Harry's robes. As Draco cried, Harry continued to whisper his apologies like a busted damn. He couldn't say it enough, he felt. At the time he thought it was nothing, but now… Now he only wished that done what he did before meeting with Draco in the morning. He didn't regret what he did, but he was sorry that it had hurt Draco so much.

"Get away from him, Potter! You bastard!" Pansy screeched shrilly as Harry didn't listen. It was obvious that if Pansy could, she would have broken them up on sight, but she hadn't. Harry didn't care about why she hadn't as he pulled Draco out to arm's length.

"Draco… I'm… I'm so sorry…" Harry said, at a lost for any other words as Draco gazed at him with such raw emotion, such pain, as if his entire world had been crushed beneath someone's shoe and spit upon.

"Why…?" Draco asked, his voice making Harry's eyes water as he thought about how much pain he brought to Draco.

"I didn't think… It was only supposed to be… I'm so sorry, Draco…" Harry said as he pulled Draco back in and hugged him, hoping to convey at least a fraction of his feelings to Draco.

"Why…?" Draco asked again as Harry pulled him back out from the hug.

"… I found that I… liked kissing, especially with you… I just didn't think about how you'd feel about my kissing others. I'm so sorry, Draco." Harry said, his throat still dry as his mouth was growing dry too.

"You're not sorry! You know he's part-Veela! You and your friends here want him dead! You want him to end his life in depression! You planned this all along!" Pansy shouted as Harry was so shocked by the outrageous claims that he actually took his eyes off of Draco to stare at Pansy in wide-eyed shock and horror.

Kill himself? Draco…kill himself? If Harry had that in his mind just last week he would have joked about it being a happy day, but now… Now he couldn't even joke about something like that after seeing how hurt and vulnerable Draco looked with the pain Harry had caused him.

"What…?" Harry gasped out as Pansy narrowed her already glaring eyes at him. Blaise was unreadable as he leaned against the closed door. Theo sat at the edge of one of the back desks watching Harry like a hawk raring to kill the prey it was seeing. Harry saw the three Slytherins exchange calculating looks before Pansy sighed loudly and shrugged off George and Fred while Blaise stepped around Seamus, and Theo got up from by Ginny and Dean.

"So you didn't know…?" Blaise said questioning, but not entirely almost in confusion.

"Know what? That Draco would… would…" Harry could feel the color drain from his face as an image flickered through his mind showing Draco's suicide, "No! Of course I didn't know! Why would I want that to happen? I never hated Draco that much!"

"So you truly just got hormonal for the day, huh?" Theo said with a raised brow as Harry raised a brow of his own, but his cheeks colored.

"What's hormonal?" Harry asked as everyone besides him and Draco fell out. Draco looked a little weak himself as he leaned into Harry for support.

"Harry, mate! You don't know about hormones?" Seamus asked, looking as if someone had slapped his God in the face. Dean and Fred had the same look while George just gaped at Harry with an eye twitching. Ginny looked to suppressing a glint in her eye as she subtly rubbed her hands together evilly like she panned to do something wicked.

"Potter, what do you know of where babies come from?" Pansy asked, her anger fading fast in the fact that Harry Potter hadn't been taught about the changes his body was going through like every other kid.

"Umm… the stork… Though I think that's a lie. But, you know with magic existing and all…" Harry mused as he let go of Draco to rub his chin in deep thought.

Was the stork a magical creature, even though his Aunt and Uncle said the stork was normal and still brought babies…?

"That was a lie, Harry! Oh Merlin's beard, man!" Fred wailed as he swooned in his spot before fainting, his twin catching him and fanning his face like those religious television shows his Aunt liked to watch on Sunday.

* * *

><p>"Shunsui… what do you think his answer will be?" Jushiro Ukitake asked as Shunsui Kyoraku turned to him with his hat raised to see his oldest friend atop the second floor of their area.<p>

"Huh? Oh, I'm not sure. Remember what happened the first time something like this happened?" Kyoraku said as Ukitake looked saddened, his hand trembling slightly on the banister of the second floor.

"Yes… I do… Well then, I'll just go back to bed. I've been feeling rather well around this place, but I don't think I'm quite well still." Ukitake said as Kyoraku nodded.

"Alright then, have a good night, Jushiro." Kyoraku said as he watched his best friend walk into the barracks upstairs.

Kyoraku looked over to the giant monitor that displayed data collected by the Department of Research and Development. Apparently, the way the wizards used their Spiritual Energy wasn't quite right, so it caused their electronic technology to short-circuit and break. Mayuri Kurotsuchi had initially been furious about it until Kisuke Urahara had sent the boy a message telling him it would be Kurotsuchi's project to work on: getting their electronics and technology to work, even with all the "magic" around. The boy had worked long into the night apparently, doing just that. In less than a full day, Kurotsuchi had recalibrated every device they needed to work inside of Hogwarts, and even created a machine that would do the recalibrating should he have missed anything. Kyoraku was certain that the boy would go far someday, that was, if he wasn't so creepy and obsessed with science only.

"Ahh, Captain Kyoraku, I see you gazing up at my marvel." Kyoraku expertly suppressed his cringe from hearing that oily voice of the Vice President of Research and Development. He had been a Captain for hundreds of years, so he had no trouble hiding his surprise when Kurotsuchi stepped next to him.

"Yes, it's quite the piece of work. I'm sure the Twelfith Division is quite proud to have you." Kyoraku said as he glanced at Mayuri, who looked like he always did; one of those kids who got into their parent's make-up.

"Yes, they are glad to have me. So, I hear you shall be leaving us soon." Kurotsuchi said as Kyoraku nodded.

"Yes. As you know, the time difference between hear and Soul Society is quite unusual in that it one month in Soul Society could become an entire year here in this Unplottable pocket dimension that Hogwarts is in. Luckily, Captain Urahara was able to manipulate the Dangai to allow us to keep a steady time current in-between the worlds." Kyoraku said as Kurotsuchi nodded.

"Yes, that was quite a long process for him I heard. Took him most of the night from what has reached my ears." Kurotsuchi said as Kyoraku nodded. Saying that Kisuke could normally solve a problem in under thirty minutes was an understatement. The guy could normally solve it with only a once-over look at your problem and then be back to his own problems in less than five minutes. So saying that a time-space distortion problem took him most of the night… ugh… Kyoraku didn't even want to think about what it could entail. He already had headaches and migraines from drinking, he didn't need them from thinking of all the equations, and physics that went into solving the problem of their time.

"Oh and yes, when will that young boy be coming back? I'd like to try analyzing his spiritual energy again with my newest method." Kurotsuchi said as Kyoraku shrugged.

"He'll be back… eventually. Having seen all of this and spoken to us, he'll be curious as to what else there is. So it could be days, weeks, or even months, but he'll be back before he has to leave." Kyoraku said as Kurotsuchi nodded.

"Fantastic! I just want to get the results before my Captain does." Kurotsuchi said as he walked off to his jumbo-sized computer. Kyoraku only shook his head while wondering who would be sent to replace him.

* * *

><p>Harry quickly learned that day that the magical baby-bringing stork was not real, and that babies came from a far more far-fetched true. He also learned that when his… "solider" stood at attention and his want to kiss every girl he fancied all stemmed from the wondrous thing called hormones. Harry didn't know quite what to make of some of the facts and things the others had told him, but what he did while sitting and listening to them was stroke Draco's slicked back as Draco laid his head in his lap. They even told him about Veela, and he gave Draco's hand a gentle squeeze afterward to show he understood now.<p>

When they were done telling him things, everyone a little red-faced, but none more than Harry, he got up and gently brought Draco to his feet. Harry took both of Draco's hands in his own as he gazed deeply into Draco's eyes. He wondered how his first two years of Hogwarts would have been if Draco was half as quiet and civil as he was being right now, though Harry could tell it was his somber mood that made him so lacking in his sharp tongue and wit.

"Draco… I can't even begin to express how sorry I am that I've hurt you…" Harry said honestly, feeling anguish over how he had hurt Draco.

"It's… okay, Harry. You didn't understand, and…" Draco said, though he still looked like he wanted to cry.

Harry didn't know what to do, so he went with the best option. He took a deep breath and then hugged Draco close to him. Draco gasped in shock, so Harry took that chance to kiss Draco fully. The others must have been surprised that he'd actually kiss Draco while Draco was in a male-form, but Harry didn't care at that moment. All he could think of was how soft Draco's lips were. He ran his hands down Draco's back while Draco moaned into his mouth under his touch.

He licked at Draco's lips, asking for entrance as Draco gladly gave it. His and Draco's tongues clashed in a fiery battle as their hands free roamed the other's body passionately. Harry wasn't even aware that his hands had gone under and up inside Draco's shirt as he focused on Draco's tongue on his own. He faintly noticed that Draco's mouth tasted of chocolate and mint, but he found the taste to wonderful to care about.

Though it was when he heard a zipper being undone did Harry feel him and Draco being separated by an invisible brick wall again. Pansy was standing there alongside Ginny, both with their wands out and red-faced like never before. Harry felt a chill on his legs, and looked down only to see his pants halfway down his legs, stopping just short of the end of his boxers. He quickly hiked them up and redid them while Draco was pulling his shirt down, which showed flushed skin like Draco had a full body blush going.

That was when Harry noticed it. The small mounds of flesh that Draco was pushing his shirt over. The way Draco's face seemed to hold a more girl-like grace to it. The long eyelashes and the way Draco's hair had seemed longer than before.

Had Draco…?

"Dammit, Draco! You're transforming because of your lust." Pansy said as she, Blaise, and Theo rushed over to Draco's side.

Draco didn't seem to hear them as he… or more of _she_ only had eyes for Harry's zipper, though Harry got the feeling it was for what was under the zipper that truly mattered to Draco… that and what was shielded by Harry's boxers and the rest of his clothes.

Merlin, did Harry adore the French…

"Drink this." Theo said as he uncorked a potion from his robes. Harry wondered what it was because Draco seemed to think it was poison the way she was glaring at it.

"What is that?" Harry asked as he walked over to the Slytherins. Theo glanced at him while Blaise had taken out his wand and turned to Draco. Pansy was holding Draco's arms tightly while Draco moved her head to any and _every_ opposite way of the potion they were trying to get her to drink.

"It's a potion that helps Draco keep her… nature in check." Theo said while looking Harry square in the eye, "Always come prepared." Theo said as Harry got the feeling that Theo knew all of this would happen.

"Oh would someone just stun Draco so we could feed him the stupid thing." Pansy said as a red streak zoomed over to Draco quickly, hitting her square in the chest while everyone went wide-eyed. They all turned back to Dean and Seamus, the two having stood together and both with their wands out. Even Harry wasn't sure which one fired the stunner, but the way Seamus was avoiding eye contact while Dean was whistling made him suspect it was-

"What?" they both asked as everyone gave them a look.

"It was Malfoy. Boy or not, in love with Harry or not, Malfoy was still a foul git to us." Seamus said as Dean nodded. Everyone decided they would never know which one had fired the stunner, but Harry resigned to hitting both of them later on sometime.

Draco being stunned made force-feeding her the potion much easier. Harry was amazed when the long blonde hair seemed to recede into Draco's head. When Draco's jaw-line became more defined, but not by much. When Draco's long lashes seemed to cut themselves shorter. And when Draco's chest seemed to deflate like a balloon with a hole in it. Before long, Draco was back to… himself? Harry was getting a little put off by having to refer to gender with Draco, so he decided that whatever form Draco was in, that was the gender Harry would refer to.

"Ugh… Bloody bastards stunned me…" Draco said groggily as he rose from the floor and held his aching head.

"Are you okay?" Harry asked softly as Draco scowled at him.

"Of course I am. The potion helps quiet my Veela-nature and keeps it under control for me. It's only when we…" Draco blushed despite himself as he glanced away from Harry, "_do things_ or I have extreme emotional distress does it ever fail."

"I'm glad you're okay, and I'm sor-"

"If you say your sorry _one_ more time, I promise you; you'll regret it. It's over and done with, so we'll just move on." Draco said curtly as Harry chuckled. He didn't even know why, but hearing Draco be… well, Malfoy, made him feel lighter about the whole situation.

"Sure, Draco." Harry said as he grabbed Draco by the waist and pulled him in close. Draco tried to protest and get away, but Harry realized that he was still a few inches taller than Draco and he was obviously stronger than the pampered spoiled brat.

"Stop it, Potter. Just because I'm in love with you does _not_ mean you can have your way with me however you'd like." Draco said as he pushed against Harry's chest. Harry only laughed at Draco's half-hearted attempts to get away.

"Yeah, yeah. Just know that from now on…" Harry said getting close to Draco's ear as he whispered in it, "You are _mine_."

Draco's face went flushing pink while he shuddered pleasantly, that was if the muttered moan Harry heard was any indication.

"Potter, you prat." Draco muttered as Harry held Draco at arm's length with a teasing smile.

"And what happened to calling me _Harry_, _Draco_." Harry asked teasingly as Draco swatted him, but he barely felt it. Harry never knew Draco was so physically weak compared to him. If he had ever got a good punch to Draco's face, the pale rich boy would be out for the count.

"Shut up, _Potter_. I'll call you whatever I _feel_ like calling you, _Harry_. Now let me go, _Scarhead_." Draco said as Harry shook his head with a chuckle. Draco was always so prideful and unyielding. Harry had to admit he liked it, but Harry also had to admit that making Draco submit to him in moments of kissing was fun too.

"Sure thing, _Malfoy_. I'll let you go, _Draco_. Now get to your dungeon, _my_ _little_ _Snake_ _Princess_." Harry said as he let Draco go, spun Draco around, and then slapped Draco's bottom to get him moving. Draco squeaked in surprise as he turned around and glared at Harry, though the blush on Draco's cheeks wasn't at all intimidating.

Draco was sputtering out nonsense and curses as Pansy and Blaise rolled their eyes. They each grabbed an arm and started dragging Draco away while Theo looked thoroughly bored with the whole scene.

"See ya later, Potter." Theo said as he followed after his friends.

"This isn't over, Potter! I'll get you! No one slaps my bum and gets away with it! No one!" Harry and his friends heard Draco yell from the hall as they all walked out of the abandoned classroom.

* * *

><p>It didn't take them long at all to reach their dorm tower. Harry had gone straight to the showers, put on his night cloths and gone to sleep when he realized it was far later than he thought. Harry lay in his bed, eyes closed as his mind tried it's hardest not to think of the angels or "Soul Reapers" and what they had asked of him.<p>

Did he even want the job of being a… liaison, was it? That meant that he'd probably be some kind of connector between the living and the dead. Did he want that? Maybe he'd be able to see his parents just once-

No, that was what his mind feared most. That he'd be able to see them, hear them, hug them and then have it all ripped away from him. He'd have gladly given all the gold Galleons in his vault for five minutes with his parents, but did he really want to have an opportunity like that only for it to be ripped away or denied? No, his heart wouldn't be able to bear it. Plus, would his parents even be there in the… Soul Society, that was what they called Heaven. Would they be there, in the Soul Society? In one of the 320 districts of… Rukon? Yeah, it was Rukon! Would his parents be together there in Rukon? Would he only be able to see one of them? What if they weren't there? What if he couldn't even find them if this "Head-Captain" person gave him permission to search for them?

Harry's mind was riddled with questions and he felt his heart grow heavier with each one. He couldn't stop them from plaguing his mind in his sleep as he tossed and turned restlessly. Thoughts of his parents, their lives in Soul Society, and whether or not he'd be able to see them.

Harry really did adore the French, but even they couldn't stop him from hoping against all hope, and worrying for all his worries.


	5. Tea Leaves, Drama, and Answers!

**So, the POLL has been done, and it seems that you all want them to have wands for their Shikai form, and then a Bankai. I'm actually a little surprised by this, but it helps with the story's originality. Okay, so to make it fair on everyone (including those that picked the other chooses) they will have a release command for their sealed blades.**

**Also, we're getting close to Harry's decision on whether or not he wants to be a Soul Reaper or not. It's not an easy one for him, but he decides it for the protection and safety of all those around him.**

**He also has a few other reasons for his decision as well… Those, however, are for you to figure out…**

**Chapter 5: Tea Leaves, Drama, and Answers!**

* * *

><p>"So, what did you gather?" a calm, cool voice asked in the darkness as a young boy was bowed before the voice.<p>

"Nothing. Everyone who has had anything to do with the mission is especially tight-lipped. No documents, no nothing. It's almost as if it's all a-"

"Trap? To smoke us out? Yes, I would agree. However, it's real, but wherever and whatever they're doing is not something for us to know about. Even Captain Hirako has been unwilling to speak on the subject. In fact, everyone I've talked to seems to be rather clueless about it all. The only thing I've gleamed from them all is that important and high-ranking members of the Court Guard Squads will be coming and going from a place for the rest of the year." the calm voice said as if it hated not knowing something.

The boy, who's light purple-nearly-silver hair gleamed in the only light of the dark room looked up to show his pale face with a mocking grin on it.

"I will contact Kaname and see what he can find out from his Captain." the boy said as the figure in the darkness nodded.

"You do that. And be sure to get me this information, Gin." the figure said calmly, though the way the boy paled even greater seemed to have an effect. The boy's grin never wavered, as he bowed deeply once again. Though it should be noted that when the boy's face was obscured by his hair, a sneer appeared on his face.

"Yes, sir." the boy said in his normal mock politeness, though the sneer stayed on his face until he rose again, the mocking grin back as he turned and walked out.

The figure in the dark was none the wiser as it chuckled to itself, thoughts of supremacy running through it's head.

* * *

><p>Harry woke up to the sound of others groaning and moaning for more sleep and no classes. He didn't even crack an eye open as his night had been restless. He turned over and put the pillow over his head to block out the noisy morning rituals of his dormmates.<p>

"Come on, Harry… We gotta get…" Ron said sleepily before yawning loudly as he gently shook Harry, "… ready for the first day of classes…"

Harry looked over his shoulder and gave Ron a look before sighing, seeing that his best friend wasn't going to go away any time soon. Harry tossed off the covers, and sat at the edge of his bed. He was drowsy and his eyes hurt as he placed his glasses on. He could think of a million things he'd rather do than deal with Snape in Potions.

Harry quickly shook his head, not wanting Snape to be in his thoughts in the morning. He grabbed his clothes and bath supplies, making his way toward the showers like the others. After a quick shower and getting into their clothes they all headed down into the Common Room. It seemed that people had fast become tired of Harry Potter gossip, because they only gave him a second look before returning to their own conversations. Hermione waved them over as she was stuffing things into a pack on a table with Ginny helping her to get it all in. Hermione either didn't remember yesterday, or was pretending not to because she didn't even seem embarrassed or flustered from what had occurred.

"Harry, do you have your schedule?" Hermione asked as Harry nodded, fishing it out of his pants' pocket while his wand rest in his robe pocket.

"Yeah… my first class is Divination." Harry said as Hermione nodded. Harry noticed a gleaming silver from Hermione's neck lit by the ever-burning fireplace.

Was Hermione Granger wearing a necklace…? He saw the silver go under her uniform and decided that she was, but didn't want to be obvious. Oh well, Harry mentally shrugged, resigned to letting her tell him about it when she wanted to.

"That's all of us, except for Ginny, Fred, and George. We all have the same classes." Hermione said as she and Ginny stuffed the last thing into Hermione' pack.

"Bloody hell, Hermione! What's with all the stuff? I knew you had more classes than us, but… Wow…" Ron said as Hermione shrugged and blushed lightly as she caught Ron's impressed look. Harry glanced between them and laughed mentally.

He loved his two first and best friends, but he'd give them at least another three to four years before they realized their feelings for one another.

"Let's head down to the Great Hall. That is, if everyone's ready?" Harry said as he glanced around. All of his friends seemed to be in agreement with him as they nodded.

Harry felt like a strong and brave leader about to command the attack on an enemy fort or something as he led the way to the Great Hall with all his friends behind him. If only he really was strong and brave, then he could do things like leading them all the time. Though he supposed that anyone would be able to lead better than him. After all, he was just Harry.

When he entered the Great Hall, it seemed that the rest of the school hadn't gotten the memo to stop gossiping about him. As soon as he opened the doors with nearly all of Gryffindor behind him like an army about to lay siege, every eye turned to him and every mouth began to whisper. Harry moved to his House's table as if he didn't hear them, but he did. The gossip ranged from possible to utterly ridiculous, and that was coming from a boy who found out he had killed the greatest Dark Lord to ever live and went about saving the school from evil teachers and giant snakes! One claimed that the dementors had kissed him, which disturbed him greatly because those things looked nasty. Another, one probably started by Snape if the man had sunken so low, said that he it was all a ploy for him to get even more attention. Harry knew, however, that the rumor hadn't been started by Snape because some offensive comment about his father doing the same hadn't popped up. There were a few other rumors and tales he heard, but they were so far-fetched indeed that he couldn't be bothered to remember.

Honestly… him shagging the Patil twins in the Perfect's bathroom? He only wished…

* * *

><p>Harry ate a breakfast of eggs, bacon, and some pancakes, but did so with lack of interest. He was still trying not to think about the offer the Soul Reapers had made to him. He couldn't think of why they wanted him in the first place. Why not Dumbledore, or Hermione with her brains? Hell, even <em>Snape<em> would have been a better choice for them!

Harry stopped poking at his eggs with his fork when he noticed a teacup pushed in front of him. He looked around and saw everyone was staring at something over his shoulder. Harry turned around on the bench, and saw Luna Lovegood smiling at him in a dazed sorta way.

"It's green tea. It'll help with your choose. You really should accept, you know. Only good can come of it." Luna said airily before she kissed his cheek and walked away.

Harry blinked once as if his eyes had deceived him or something. He glanced back at the cup with the tea just like all the others were doing. Hermione seemed to be channeling McGonagall as her lips were thinned while she watched Luna's back sharply before huffing.

"I'll just throw this out for you, Harry. Knowing that one-" Hermione's hand reached out for the teacup, but Harry held up and hand stalling her. He took the teacup in his own hands while everyone watched him.

"No thank, Hermione. I think Luna's right… about one thing, at least. A good cup of tea can only help… I hope…" Harry said as he sipped at the tea. It wasn't hot like it usually was, but chilled sort of. Harry found that he enjoyed it as he sipped at the cup and sat it down. He did feel a bit better. Harry let out a deep breath and relaxed some.

That was, until he heard a snarl from across the hall. It wasn't enough for most people to hear, but Harry felt like it reached his ears because it was for him to hear. Harry turned to see Draco sitting at the Slytherin table in a way that allowed him to see Harry's spot quite clearly since no one sat in the three spots in front of him. Draco was gripping the knife in his hand tightly with a sneer on his face. Harry chuckled sheepishly as he was sure that Draco had seen Luna give him the tea and kiss him.

Harry quickly got up, saying his excuses as he made his way out. He glanced back to see that Draco hadn't even bothered with an excuse with how furious he looked. He had simply slammed his hands on the table and taken off after Harry. Though he walked casually, Harry knew that was Draco's way of chasing him like a bat out of hell while in full view of people. As soon as they were out of the Great Hall, Harry grabbed Draco and placed a hand over his mouth to keep him from yelling.

Dragging Draco into a side hall where they had waited when they had all been First Years about to be sorted, Harry closed the door to the side hall behind him while he pushed Draco inside.

"You _bastard!_ You lying, cheating, unclothe filth!" Draco yelled as he turned to Harry and glared hard. Harry only rolled his yes, for some reason he couldn't fathom he was growing less and less afraid of Draco's temper. Maybe because he knew it was just Draco's Veela-jealousy rising up…?

"Yeah, yeah. Good morning to you too." Harry said as he sat Draco down, but Draco only stood back up and pushed him back. Harry only went back a step as he raised a brow at Draco.

"Do you feel _nothing_! Nothing for me and how _I_ feel? What the hell was _that_ in there?" Draco said as Harry felt a tinge of guilt.

"_She_ was Luna, and _she_ is a _friend._ She helped me… a little. I don't know." Harry said, confused as to Luna's role in everything. He wasn't sure if he could call Luna a mystic all-knowing being or not, but she seemed to know just what to say and what he should do.

"She's probably one of the little _tramps_ you were going around kissing yesterday." Draco hissed as Harry shrugged.

"Yes, she was, but she's _not_ a tramp, and I don't _ever_ want to hear that word come from your mouth where my friends are concerned. From that one cup of tea she's done more good for me than _you_ have in the past _two years._ At least she's _tried_ to _help_ me instead of being only another _problem_ for me to stress over." Harry hissed back as Draco flinch, almost like Harry had physically hit him. The shock and dread that came over Draco's features made Harry sigh. Had he gone to far in trying to get Draco to listen…?

"I… I'm… I tried… I couldn't…" Draco stammered out before he sat down, still looking deeply shocked with himself, "I'm sorry…"

"It's fine. Just get yourself some control." Harry said as he sat beside Draco. They were silent for a while after that. Draco looked at him with clouded eyes.

"Do you l-like her… a-all of them… from yesterday?" Draco asked like he had swallowed a hard pill.

"Yes… somewhat. They were all girls I fancied looking, but never much else. Luna… I don't know what to make of her. She seems to know everything, _and_ made me tea. I think I really liked the tea part more so though. It's like she knows… me, as just plain Harry, not Harry Potter." Harry said as Draco nodded stiffly, looking teary-eyed, "Draco, that's how I want you to be someday. To know me, and not feel so insecure. For us to just be able to sit here like this and… talk. Not kiss, or fight, but just talk."

"Talking nice…" Draco muttered with a small smile, "I'm sorry, Harry. It's just that you only just found out about me, and I'm afraid I'll lose you somehow."

"Lose me? You'll only do that if you're as big a prick as you were before. Just try and keep it civil every now and then." Harry said with a smile as Draco swatted his arm.

"Git."

"Princess."

"Bastard."

"Tease."

"What?" Draco asked in shock as Harry shrugged.

"Something I overheard Fred call George once while I was at the Weasley house." Harry said as Draco shook his head.

"Those Weasleys…" Draco said bitingly, but the look he got from Harry told him to stop using that tone, "Sorry…"

"Well then, as much as I love seeing your _distain_ for my choice in friends, I have to go." Harry said standing up as Draco looked panicked. Harry rolled his eyes when Draco's hands caught his arm before he could even step away, "Not _forever,_ Draco. We'll… _talk_ again some other time... when we _have_ the time. I can even introduce you to Luna… that is, if I ever find her. She has this way of finding _me_ instead."

"I'm sure…" Draco muttered as Harry sighed. Harry bent down and kissed Draco's cheek like Luna had done his own. Without another word Harry left, and Draco followed.

* * *

><p>Harry soon saw his friends coming out of the Great Hall right when he had been about to go back in. They must have seen Draco trailing behind him some length down the path as they narrowed their eyes over his shoulder.<p>

Are you okay, Harry? We know you said not to follow, but…" Hermione trailed off as she gave Draco a look Harry couldn't quite place. Ron was just plain glaring while the others had crossed their arms.

"I'm fine. Why don't we head toward our first class now. Isn't it-"

"Potter! I said look at me!" Draco shouted as he drew closer to the group. Harry figured Draco was playing up on being his normal arrogant and spoiled self in public as he strutted up to them, "Once again you show the world just how truly pathetic you are! I mean you actually fainted from that Dementor!" Draco said as he gave an unconvincing chuckle. Harry rolled his eyes as he stopped Ron's hand from grabbing his wand.

"If you don't mind, Draco, I'd like to either go to class or get back to my tea. Thank you." Harry said politely as Draco scoffed and pushed pass him and into the Great Hall. Harry was about to follow, but then he noticed the teacup in Ginny's hand. He took it from her and gave her a smile that seemed to melt her for some reason, "Thank you, Ginny."

Harry sipped at his tea while noticing that Ron was looking at him as if he had suddenly grown an extra head. Hermione looked to be slightly flushed, like she had just recalled something embarrassing while she gave him a questioning look.

"Harry, what was that about? He insulted you, and you were _nice_ about. You even _thanked_ the dirty little rat." Ron said as Harry continued to drink his tea.

"Simple. He and I have come to an… agreement as of late. He's being a bit more civil; like a normal person. Though he's still a spoiled pampered brat." Harry said as he finished his tea.

With his two best friends thoroughly shocked, Harry walked off toward the courtyard where he'd relax until his first class.

* * *

><p>"You have your mission. Now go forth and complete it." Yamamoto said as a girl bowed to him while a large man nodded.<p>

"Yes, sir!" the two said before they disappeared in a flash-step.

"Do you think it wise to have sent both of them on this one mission? All three branches working together on one mission will draw quite the bit of attention from not only our enemies, but our allies as well." Yoruichi said as she stepped out of the shadows.

"Perhaps, but for what I have planned, this mission requires a bit of cooperation from all of us." Yamamoto said as another person stepped out of the shadows opposite of Yoruichi.

"And just what is it that you have planned, Head-Captain Yamamoto?" the man in a regal blue robe and Soul Reaper uniform asked as he adjusted his square-rimmed glasses.

"You shall know soon enough." Yamamoto said, and with that the Commander of the Stealth Force and the Grand Captain of the Kido Corps exchanged looks before they nodded to the Head-Captain and let.

* * *

><p>Neville, who had been to North Tower before with Professor Sprout, easily led the way up a narrow spiral staircase before they reached a small landing with a trap door above them. Harry wasn't the only one to raise a brow at the thing.<p>

Before anyone could ask where the class was, the trap door above them fell open and a silvery ladder fell at Harry and Neville's feet due to them being up front. After some encouragement from Ron and the others, Harry began climbing first. He reached the top, and knew that the others were following hesitantly.

As soon as Harry had entered the room though, he sneezed with a groan. The room was extremely stuffy and filled with the scent of _way_ too much perfume in the air. Harry didn't even mind when Neville went in front of him, following the normally timid boy causing to one of several low round tables. Each was surrounded by hideous pink, purple, orange and pastel red poufs and chintz armchairs. Several reddish scarves and shawls were draped over every single lamp, giving the room a faint red tint. A softly roaring fire sat in the fire place at the front of the attic-like room, radiating with the perfumed aroma.

Harry made sure he got to a table right beside a window before anyone could say anything. He immediately perched on the sill and opened the window, welcoming the rush of cool air. Harry glanced back and saw that Ron and Hermione were arguing about something in hushed voices while Neville, Dean and Seamus were plopped down into the overstuffed poufs and armchairs. Harry shook his head as he sat at his table, Hermione going to sit with the Gryffindor Patil twin… Parvati, if Harry remembered right while Ron sat with him.

"Where is the teacher? Her name's… Sybil Trelawney." Ron whispered to him as Harry shrugged. He was still curious as to what Divination was, never mind the professor of it.

"Ahh, greetings, children." a soft misty voice said from the shadows of a part of the room, "It is so nice to finally meet you all in the physical world."

A tall woman with rather large spectacles, causing her eyes to seem twice as large as normal appeared. She looked to be wrapped in several layers of thin shawls, despite the unnatural heat of the room as she emerged from the shadows, almost magically. She practically glided around the room like an overgrown moth with too many colors and more than enough beaded necklaces around her neck.

She turned her large eyes to Harry's table and her misty smile grew dramatically.

"And welcome, at last, to you oh Savoir of our world. I knew this year would be quite unique, for I have foreseen your arrival. Welcome to the wonderful class of Divination, or the art of prophecy, and seeking knowledge through and for mystic and supernatural purposes, Mr. Harry Potter."

Harry let his jaw drop as the woman seemed to read his mind like Luna had before she glided away, fluttering her hands dramatically and giving her the appearance of someone attempting to fly away.

Seamus was smirking as he leaned over to whisper to Dean, doing so loud enough for Harry and Ron to hear, "How much you want to bet she's gonna fly away someday leaving a rainbow trail?" Seamus said as everyone of them grinned at the thought.

The fluttery woman continued to speak, oblivious to the funny thoughts forming against her within the minds of Seamus Finnegan, "My name is Professor Trelawney, and as you may have guessed, I am the Divination teacher, your instructor into the Other Plane; the _Beyond_. You may not have seen me before, for I find that descending too far into the school clouds my Inner Eye, thus I refrain from leaving my quarters." Professor Trelawney said as she eyed each of them in turn, her eyes lingering a few seconds longer on several of the students, mostly Neville and Harry for some reason. Then she whirled around and fluttered to the front of the class.

"Now then, you have chosen to study Divination, the most difficult of the magical world. For I regret to say that not all of you will be able to learn it. There are many who do not possess the right mind-set needed, and most importantly, the Inner Eye. There is very little I can teach those who do not possess the Sight. Books can only take you so far…"

Harry and Ron chuckled silently and smugly at the look Hermione had on her face, obviously feeling startled at the news that books wouldn't be able to help her much in the subject.

"It is the Gift given graciously to a very few. You boy." Trelawney said as she glanced suddenly at Neville, who shrank so far back into the pouf nervously that he nearly toppled off the other side. It was only thanks to Dean catching Neville by the robes that the boy was kept upright, "Is your grandmother well?"

Neville blinked nervously. Harry got the feeling that the woman was either messing with Neville, or she really knew something going on with Neville's Gram.

"Um, I… t-think so." Neville stuttered, glancing around in confusion and fright.

"I would not be so sure if I were you, dear." Professor Trelawney said mystically as Neville whimpered and gulped fearfully.

Harry narrowed his eyes at him, frowning slightly at the flustered professor, who quickly blinked several times before abruptly changing the subject when she caught his look. She had upset Neville and now he'd be worried for his Gram all day.

"Send her a letter if your worried, man." Seamus said as Neville nodded meekly.

"Y-You're right…" Neville muttered as he took a few deep breaths.

* * *

><p>Professor Trelawney began explaining the layout of the year's coursework to the class, avoiding eye contact with Harry. After warning a girl about a red-haired man, causing her to look at Ron with a startled look before scooting her seat away from Ron's. Harry rolled eyes at how easily spooked his classmates were by the woman's predictions as she told another girl that something supposedly dreadful was going to happen on the sixteenth of October. Finally, the rather dramatic woman as Harry came to see, instructed the class to divide into pairs, grab a teacup from the back of the class, and bring it to her to be filled.<p>

"Drink only until the dregs remain; then swish them around the cup three times with your left hand before turning it upside down and letting the excess moisture drain from the cup." Trelawney said as she got out a fresh kettle of tea, "Once the last of the tea has drained away, switch it with your partner's, and then interpret the patterns using the guide on pages five and six in your copies of _Unfogging the Future_. I shall instruct where I can." As everyone rose from their seats and began heading towards the back of the room, she stopped Neville by taking hold of his hands as he passed, "And dear, after you've broken your first cup, please select one of the blue ones. I rather like the pink."

Harry rolled his eyes as he handed Neville a pink cup personally just to test her "Seeing" powers, though it slipped off Neville's hands when he turned around and bumped into Dean.

Trelawney came fluttering over, brush and dust pan in hand, "One of the blue ones then, dear." Trelawney said airily as Neville frowned at her before he grabbed a blue cup while Trelawney swept up the mess.

Once they had returned to their seats with filled cups, Harry and Ron tried to drink their hot tea quickly. They swilled the dregs around as Professor Trelawney had instructed, then drained the cups and swapped over.

"Right…" Ron started as they both opened their books at pages five and six, "What can you see in mine?"

"A load of soggy brown stuff." Harry said as he and Ron grinned at each other. Then it hit them, the heavily perfumed smoke in the room was making Harry feel sleepy and stupid while Ron swooned a bit in his seat. Harry was glad he had opened that window, because it when just as quickly as it came.

"Broaden your minds, my dears, and allow your eyes to see _past_ the mundane!" Professor Trelawney cried through the gloom as Harry his head in amusement.

The woman could have been a great actress if she could be this dramatic.

"Right… you've got a crooked sort of cross…" Harry said as consulted _Unfogging the Future_, "That means you're going to have "trials and suffering". Umm… sorry about that, but there's a thing that could be the sun. Hang on, that means "great happiness"… so you're going to suffer but be very happy…?" Harry finished as he gave his friend a questioning look while Ron looked just as confused as he did.

"I think… that you need your Inner Eye tested, if you ask me." Ron said slowly before he shook his head as they both had to stifle their laughs as Professor Trelawney gazed in their direction.

"My turn…" Ron said as he peered into Harry's teacup while his forehead wrinkled with the effort of discerning the dregs, "There's this blob that sorta looks like a bowler hat… Maybe you're going to work for the Ministry of Magic…"

"Maybe…" Harry muttered, not really sure if he wanted to work with people like Fudge. The guy just seemed a bit too chummy, if you asked him.

Ron turned the teacup the other way up as he peered into in.

"But this way it looks more like an acorn… what's that mean?" He scanned his copy of _Unfogging the Future_, "Apparently it's… "A windfall, unexpected gold", so that means you're gonna get some new money coming in. Excellent, you can lend me some." Ron said, looking up to give Harry a mocking grin as Harry chuckled at the poor joke.

"Okay… and then there's a thing here…" Ron said getting back to the cup again, "It sorta looks like an animal… yeah, if that was its head… it looks like a hippo… no, a sheep…?"

Professor Trelawney whirled around as Harry let out a snort of laughter. Seeing sheep in his future, he could only dream. Because in real life he only saw giant snakes and Voldemorts.

"Let me see that, my dear." Trelawney said reprovingly to Ron, sweeping over and snatching Harry's cup from Ron's hands as Harry frowned at her, her appearance ruining what little fun he was having. Everyone went quiet to watch her as she was staring into the teacup, rotating it counter-clockwise.

"The falcon… my dear, you have a deadly enemy." Trelawney said as Harry rolled his eyes, but didn't want to comment. He didn't want to hear one word about Voldemort this year if he could help it.

"But everyone knows that." Hermione said in a loud whisper as Harry groaned, hating his female best friend slightly for doing just what he didn't want done while Professor Trelawney stared at her.

"Well, they do." Hermione said as Harry gave her a look.

"Hermione." Harry said, but she didn't seem to hear him even though everyone seemed to as they looked away from the look he was directing at his friend.

"Everybody knows about Harry and You-Know-Who." Hermione said as Harry rolled his eyes.

"No, I don't know who. No one but Dumbledore says the name, so I don't know who, Hermione. Say Voldemort." Harry said as the class flinched back causing Harry's annoyance to rise, "Come on, say Voldemort."

Harry glanced at Ron, who was staring at Hermione in a mixture of amazement and admiration. He supposed he would to if she had annoyed him by bringing up the person that tried every year to kill him somehow. After all, they had never heard Hermione speak to a teacher so… uncouthly before.

Professor Trelawney chose not to reply to Hermione though as she lowered her huge eyes to Harry's cup again and continued to turn it.

"The club… an attack." Trelawney said as she gazed into the cup, "Dear, dear… This is _not_ a happy cup…"

"And I am _not_ a happy camper anymore…" Harry muttered as he leaned back into his chair and crossed his arms, shooting Hermione looks since she and Trelawney had to go and ruin his happy mood with Voldemort and bad signs in his cup.

"I thought that was a bowler hat..." Ron said sheepishly with a shrug, trying to help.

"The skull… danger in your path, my dear…" Trelawney said while everyone was staring at her, transfixed as she gave the cup a final turn, and gasped dramatically before screaming.

There was another tinkle of breaking china as Neville had smashed his second cup. Professor Trelawney sank into a vacant armchair, her glittering hand at her heart and her eyes closed.

"My dear boy… my poor dear boy… No, it is kinder not to say… No, don't ask me to say it…" Trelawney said as though she were about to faint.

"Drama queen…" Seamus muttered loudly to Neville, who shrugged nervously, as if everything he did would lead to a bad faith.

"What is it, Professor?" Dean asked as everyone had got to their feet, and slowly crowded around Harry and Ron's table. They were all packed closely while each was trying to get a good look at Harry's cup.

"My dear…" Trelawney said with a pause as her huge eyes opened dramatically, "You have… the Grim!"

"The what?" Harry said, blinking in surprise. He could tell that he wasn't the only one who didn't understand. Dean and Seamus shrugged at him in confusion while Lavender Brown looked as puzzled as they did. Many of the others, however, clapped their hands to their mouths in horror and were muttering things that sounded like prayers or graces.

"The Grim, my dear, the Grim!" Professor Trelawney cried out as she say Harry's look of confusion, "The giant, spectral dog that haunts churchyards! My dear boy, it is an omen! The worst omen! An omen of _death_!"

Harry's stomach lurched at the thought of death. He faintly remembered the dog on the cover of Death Omens in Flourish and Blotts, and then the dog in the shadows of Magnolia Crescent… Then he thought about the Soul Reapers and their sudden appearance at the school. Were they there to claim him? Was this omen true?

Lavender Brown clapped her hands to her mouth, too. Everyone was looking at Harry, everyone except Hermione, who had gotten up and moved around to the back of Professor Trelawney's chair. Seamus didn't seem to care, giving Harry a raised brow like Dean was. Hermione frowned as she looked into Harry's cup.

"I don't think it looks like a Grim." Hermione said flatly, her dislike for the Professor obvious to even _Ron_.

Professor Trelawney surveyed Hermione with mounting dislike. She could tell the type. Just like McGonagall, except McGonagall knew how to be civil and was cultured, unlike the young girl in front of her.

"You'll forgive me for saying so, my dear, but I perceive very little aura around you. Very little receptivity to the resonances of the future." Trelawney said with a shake of her head.

Seamus was tilting his head from side to side. Harry suspected that either he was thinking of a fight between Hermione and Trelawney, or listening to imagery music inside his head. Though since Seamus was staring into a cup, Harry decided that neither was the case, especially when the Irish boy started squinting.

"It looks like a Grim… if you do this." Seamus said with his eyes almost narrowed shut, "But… it looks more like a donkey from here." Seamus said, leaning to his left.

Harry was starting to get really annoyed. Even Ron looked pale as he kept glancing at him. Why was it that every time something involved him people never had an opposing question or common sense? No, they all simply assumed that whatever the person said about him was true. First Year it was that he, apparently, lived in a castle with Voldemort's head mounted over his fireplace. Second Year it was that he was the heir of Slytherin… even though he was in Gryffindor. He was getting sick and tired of people assuming crap about him!

"When you've all finished deciding whether I'm going to die or not!" Harry said his emerald eyes like a Killing Curse on everyone one. He took even himself by surprise at the amount of public emotion he was starting to show this year. Now nobody seemed to want to look at him. He was about to finish his rant when Professor Trelawney interrupted, not wanting him to explode on them.

"I think we will leave the lesson here for today." Trelawney said in her mistiest voice, "Yes… please pack away your things…"

Harry huffed as he glared at anyone that dared look at him like he would suddenly drop dead. Silently the class took their teacups back to Professor Trelawney, packed away their books, and closed their bags. Even Ron was avoiding Harry's eyes in both the fright that Harry had a Grim and the fact that Harry was very angry.

"Until we meet again, may fair fortune be yours. Oh, and dear," Trelawney said as she stopped Neville when he passed her, "you'll be late next time, so mind you work extra-hard to catch up."

* * *

><p>Harry, deciding he didn't want to talk to <em>anyone<em> at the moment, descended Professor Trelawney's ladder and the winding stair in quick silence. He set off for Professor McGonagall's Transfiguration class without Ron or Hermione. It didn't take him long without the arguing his two friends normally did over which direction to take. He walked in, being sure to sit up front so he didn't have to see anyone, and so no one would be glancing back at him.

He thought for a long time in his angered mood while he hand his head in his crossed arms. Would he die soon? Would he just go to Rukon like Jushiro Ukitake said? Didn't that mean he'd be with his parents? Become a Soul Reaper? Have an entire life after dying?

Harry raised his head up with a small smile. Suddenly, dying didn't sound so bad. He'd just live out a whole other life after dying. He'd become a person like Jushiro Ukitake, or that laid-back guy Kyoraku. He could get a girlfriend like Lisa, and be a Captain or a Lieutenant like Sasakibe. He could be with his parents, get to know them, and come back to the Living World whenever he wanted or needed to.

Harry jumped when a door opened up from the side, revealing Professor Minerva McGonagall as she exited her office. Harry and her locked on each other and were silent for a moment before she started making her way over to him, a bit quicker than Harry had ever seen her move.

"Mr. Potter? What are you doing here? Is something the matter?" McGonagall said as she stopped at the table he was seated behind.

"No, not really." Harry said with a sigh. Before he could tell her what happened, the other students were coming into class while shooting him glances.

"We'll talk about it later." McGonagall said as she began teaching.

* * *

><p>Harry kept his head down most of the time between taking notes. He could feel everyone's stare on him, and he wasn't going to give them the satisfaction of looking back and letting them know he was uncomfortable.<p>

He had hardly heard what Professor McGonagall was telling them about Animagi, normally powerful wizards who could transform at will into animals, and wasn't even truly watching when she transformed herself into a tabby cat in front of their eyes. She looked mildly irritated when it seemed no one was paying attention as her feline tail swished back and forth.

"Really, what has got into you all today?" Professor McGonagall said, turning back into herself with a faint pop, and staring around at them all, "Not that it matters to me, but that's the first time my transformation has _not_ gotten applause from a class."

Harry finally looked back… and sure enough everyone was staring back at him, but nobody spoke. He was glad for that, at least until Hermione raised her hand. Harry wanted to groan, but he settled for narrowing his eyes at his friend. She wouldn't…

"Please, Professor, we've just had our first Divination class, and we were reading the tea leaves, and-"

"Ah, of course. Was that what was troubling you, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall said, cutting Hermione off with a sudden frown. She turned to Harry and saw that he was lightly banging his head against his desk.

"There is no need to say any more, Miss Granger. Tell me, which of you will be dying this year?" McGonagall said as she scanned the room. Harry glared back at Hermione as the girl looked back at him sheepishly. Everyone was staring at him as McGonagall looked at him with a raised brow.

"You, Mr. Potter?" McGonagall said as though it wasn't much of a surprise.

"Yeah… me." Harry with a sigh.

"I see." Professor McGonagall said, fixing Harry with her beady eyes, "Then you should know, Mr. Potter, that Sybil Trelawney has predicted the death of one student each and every year since she arrived at this school. None of them has died yet. Seeing death omens is her favorite way of greeting a new class. If it were not for the fact that I never speak ill of my colleagues-"

Professor McGonagall broke off, and they saw that her nostrils had gone white. She went on, having regained some of her calm.

"Divination is one of the most… _imprecise_ branches of magic. I shall not conceal from you that I have very little patience with it. True Seers are very rare, and Professor Trelawney-" McGonagall said, stopping herself from a bad remark again before she went on in a very matter-of-fact tone, "You look to be in excellent health to me, Mr. Potter, so you will excuse me if I don't let you off homework today. I assure you that, if you die, you need not hand it in."

Hermione laughed, but Harry glared her and the others into silence despite the fact that he felt a bit better. He had to admit that it was harder to feel nervous about tea leaves away from the dim light and befuddling perfume of Professor Trelawney's classroom.

Sadly, not everyone was convinced, as Ron still looked worried, and Lavender whispered to Hufflepuff about Neville's cup incident.

"Now then, I hope all of you are done gawking at Mr. Potter as if he were in the circus. Let us move on with class." Professor McGonagall said as she turned back to her blackboard and began teaching once again.

* * *

><p>When the Transfiguration class had finished, they joined the crowd thundering toward the Great Hall for lunch. Harry was still annoyed with Hermione, so she opted for trying to cheer up Ron, who looked as if they had killed Scabbers.<p>

"Ron, cheer up." Hermione said while she pushed a dish of stew toward him, "You heard what Professor McGonagall said."

Ron spooned the stew onto his plate and picked up his fork, but didn't start eating. Harry felt a little happy to see Ron so worried over him, but his annoyance at all was still greater.

"H-Harry…" Ron said suddenly in a low and serious voice, "You haven't seen a great black d-dog anywhere… h-have you?"

"Yeah, I have." Harry said with a shrug as Ron went pale, "I saw one the night I left the Dursleys' house."

Ron let his fork fall with a clatter as his hand shook lightly. He turned to Harry as if he was dead and his spirit was sitting next to him.

"Probably just a stray." Hermione said calmly with a wave of her hand while Ron looked at her as though she had gone insane.

"Hermione, if Harry's seen a G-Grim, that's … that's bad. Beyond bad even!" Ron said as he grasped at his hair, "M-My uncle Bilius saw one and he d-died twenty-four hours later!"

"Coincidence." Hermione said airily, pouring herself some pumpkin juice. Harry raised a brow at why she wasn't as worried about his death as Ron was. Harry hated to admit it, but that whole Grim thing could be true. He did seem to get into life-or-death situations like a kid in a cookie jar. Ron's worries weren't completely unfounded, even if they were annoying Harry.

"You don't know what you're talking about!" Ron said, starting to get angry over Hermione's lack of emotion. It was like she hadn't been in the class for ages, "Grims scare the living daylights out of most wizards!"

Harry raised a brow at that tid-bit of information. So this Grim thing had to be a big deal in the Wizarding World for it to get to even Ron, who usually waved off most bad things. Hermione didn't seem to catch this, though as she gave Ron one of her condescending looks.

"There you have it, then." Hermione said in a superior tone. "They see the Grim and die of fright. The Grim's not an omen, it's the cause of death! And Harry's still with us because he's not stupid enough to see one and think, right, well, I'd better kick the bucket then!"

"Hermione!" Harry admonished as she sent him a startled look while Ron mouthed wordlessly. Hermione huffed in annoyance as she opened her bag and took out her new Arithmancy book, propping it open against the juice jug.

"What, Harry? I think Divination seems very woolly." Hermione said as she glanced at Harry's look of irritation. She flipped through her textbook, searching for a page, "A lot of guesswork, if you ask me."

"There was nothing woolly about the Grim in that cup!" Ron said hotly as Hermione gave him a look.

"You didn't seem quite so confident when you were telling Harry it was a sheep." Hermione said coolly as Harry nearly gaped at her. Surely she could see that this Grim business was a big deal for wizards, but then again it was a superstition; and Hermione Jean Granger didn't believe in superstitions, so therefore, no one else should either.

"Hermione, stop this-"

"Professor Trelawney said you didn't have the right aura!" Ron shouted, cutting Harry off, "You just don't like being bad at something for a change!"

Harry saw it instantly. Ron had touched a nerve. Hermione slammed her Arithmancy book down on the table so hard that bits of meat and carrot flew everywhere. She sent Harry a look to help her, but he didn't even bother as he gave her a look of his own. She huffed as she stood up suddenly.

"If being good at Divination means I have to pretend to see death omens in a lump of tea leaves, I'm not sure I'll be studying it much longer! That lesson was absolute rubbish compared with my Arithmancy class!" Hermione said loudly as Harry raised a brow at the mention of her Arithmancy class.

She hadn't been to one yet… had she?

Hermione snatched up her bag and book before stalking away from the table, and out of the doors of the Great Hall. Ron and Harry frowned after her back before turning to each other.

"What's she talking about?" Ron said to Harry, who looked thoughtful, "She hasn't been to an Arithmancy class yet."

"You're right. Tell me, Ron; are there any magics that can let you be in more than one place at once." Harry said as Ron shook his head.

"No, none that I know about." Ron said as Harry hummed in thought to himself.

Could it have anything to do with that silver necklace he had seen yesterday…?

* * *

><p>Harry was pleased to get out of the castle after lunch. Yesterday's rain from after Draco's slapping him had cleared; the sky was a clear, a pale gray but oh well, and the grass was springy and damp underfoot as they set off for their first ever Care of Magical Creatures class.<p>

Ron and Hermione weren't speaking to each other. Harry decided to not even bother with them as he went along with Seamus and Dean. He loved his two best friends, really he did, but their crap had to stop. He was not going to be uncomfortable between them just because Ron's ways had him paranoid of tea leaves and Hermione's was so uncaring of others differences in culture. He talked at length with Dean and Seamus while they went down the sloping lawns to Hagrid's hut on the edge of the Forbidden Forest. It was only when he spotted three only-too-familiar backs ahead of them that he realized they must be having these lessons with the Slytherins.

"My Potter-senses are tingling." Draco whispered to Crabbe and Goyle, who were chortling as Harry was quite sure he knew what they were talking about.

Blaise, Theo, and Pansy looked back and grinned as they saw Harry, Seamus, and Dean coming up behind them. Harry and his two friends walked right past them as Draco looked offended at not being greeted properly. Probably with a kiss or something, Harry thought as he saw Hagrid waiting for his class at the door of his hut. He stood in his moleskin overcoat, with Fang the boarhound at his heels, looking impatient to start.

"C'mon, now, get a move on!" Hagrid called as the class approached, "Got a real treat for yeh today! Great lesson comin' up! Everyone here? Right, follow me!"

For one nasty moment, Harry thought that Hagrid was going to lead them into the forest; Harry had had enough unpleasant experiences in there to last him a lifetime. He hated to admit it, but Hagrid wasn't really a "conventional" teacher. He had faith though, and breathed a sigh of relief when, however, Hagrid strolled off around the edge of the trees, and five minutes later, they found themselves outside a kind of paddock. There was nothing in there.

"Everyone gather 'round the fence here!" Hagrid called loudly as he gestured for them to do as they were told, "That's it, make sure yeh can see now, firs' thing yeh'll want ter do is open yer books-"

"How?" Draco said, his voice a cold drawl as Harry sent him a look.

"Eh?" Hagrid said in confusion, looking surprised that someone asked that question.

"How do we open our books?" Draco repeated as he took out his copy of _The Monster Book of Monsters_, which he had bound shut with a length of rope. Other people took theirs out too; some, like Harry, had belted their book shut; others had crammed them inside tight bags or clamped them together with binder clips.

"Hasn'… hasn' anyone bin able ter open their books?" Hagrid said, looking crestfallen when all the class shook their heads. Even Harry, because that was had been mad trying to bite his head off the one time he tried to open it!

"Yeh've got ter stroke 'em." Hagrid said as though this was the most obvious thing in the world. He sighed and ran a hand through his thick bushy beard, "Look."

Hagrid took Hermione's copy from her, and ripped off the Spell-o-tape that bound it. The book tried to bite, but Hagrid ran a giant forefinger down its spine, and the book shivered, and then fell open and lay quiet in his hand. Everyone looked amazed at Hagrid's small show, but Hagrid frowned at them in thought.

"Of course, why didn't you lot guess that, you have to stroke them." Hagrid said as Harry sighed, already knowing where this would go.

"Oh, how silly we've all been!" Draco mocked as he gave a dramatic shocked look, "You lot here that! We should have stroked them! Why didn't we guess!"

"I… I thought they were funny…" Hagrid said uncertainly to Hermione, who shook her head while Harry walked over.

"Oh, _tremendously_ funny!" Draco said sarcastically before he galred, "_Really_ witty, giving us books that try and rip our hands off!"

"Shut up, Malfoy." Harry said with a glancing glare as Draco huffed and crossed his arms before looking away. Hagrid was looking downcast and Harry wanted Hagrid's first lesson to be a success.

"Not my fault he's a duff…" Draco muttered, but the withering glare Harry sent him told him Harry had heard.

"It's okay, _Professor_ Hagrid. The store should have told us how to open them when we bought them. It wasn't your fault if we didn't know and you thought it'd be fun for us to play around a bit. These things really should come with warning labels." Harry said with a small smile as Hagrid cheered up a bit while others were nodding. Draco rolled his eyes while his friends didn't seem to care much.

"Thanks, Harry." Hagrid said before he cleared his throat, looking braver than he probably felt, "Righ' then. So now yeh've got yer books, an' now yeh need the Magical Creatures. Yeah? So I'll go an' get 'em! Hang on…"

Hagrid strode away from them into the forest and out of sight. Draco was about to make a comment, but Harry sent him a look that clearly said one more word would have Draco without Harry for a long… _long_ time. Draco wisely kept his mouth shut while Blaise snickered at him.

"Somebody's whipped, and _they're_ supposed to _be_ the _girl."_ Blaise and Theo sang as Draco scowled at the both of them.

"And just what is _that_ supposed to mean?" Draco and Pansy asked with edge in their voices as Blaise and Theo paled.

"Nothing…" the two Slytherin boys muttered.

* * *

><p>"Oooooooh!" squealed Lavender Brown, pointing toward the opposite side of the paddock.<p>

Trotting toward them were a dozen of the most bizarre creatures Harry had ever seen. They had the bodies, hind legs, and tails of horses, but the front legs, wings, and heads of what seemed to be giant eagles, with cruel, steel-colored beaks and large, brilliantly, orange eyes. The talons on their front legs were half a foot long and deadly looking. Each of the beasts had a thick leather collar around its neck, which was attached to a long chain, and the ends of all of these were held in the vast hands of Hagrid, who came jogging into the paddock behind the creatures.

"Hippogriffs?" someone said, "They're all right, but they can be… d-dangerous. Is it wise to have them for our first lesson?" Harry didn't say anything as he was too busy gazing at the creatures in amazement. For some reason, he wondered if his parents or anyone in Soul Society had ever seen such beings.

"Gee-Dee up, there!" Hagrid roared, shaking the chains and urging the creatures toward the fence where the class stood. Everyone drew back slightly as Hagrid reached them and tethered the creatures to the fence.

"Hippogriffs!" Hagrid roared happily, waving a hand at them, "Beau'iful, aren' they?"

Harry could sort of see what Hagrid meant. Once you got over the first shock of seeing something that was half horse, half bird, you started to appreciate the Hippogriffs' gleaming coats, changing smoothly from feather to hair, each of them a different color: stormy gray, bronze, pinkish roan, gleaming chestnut, and inky black.

"So…" Hagrid said, rubbing his hands together and beaming around, "If yeh wan' ter come a bit nearer…"

No one seemed to want to. Harry, however, approached the fence cautiously while, Ron and Hermione came up to, trying to be supportive of Hagrid.

"Now then, firs' thing yeh gotta know abou' Hippogriffs is, they're proud." Hagrid said, sounding very teacher-like as he moved about a bit while talking and keeping attention, "Easily offended, Hippogriffs are. Don't never insult one, 'cause it might be the last thing yeh do."

Harry heard Draco whispering and gazed over his shoulder. Draco, Crabbe, and Goyle weren't listening as they were talking in an undertone. It was only when both Theo and Blasie elbowed Draco in his sides did he look up to see Harry glaring at him. Draco blushed and straightened up, paying attention as Harry turned back.

"Yeh always wait fer the Hippogriff ter make the firs' move." Hagrid continued as he saw Harry turn back to him, "It's polite, see? Yeh walk toward him, and yeh bow, an' yeh wait. If he bows back, yeh're allowed ter touch him. If he doesn' bow, then get away from him sharpish, 'cause those talons _hurt_."

"Right, so who wants ter go first?" Hagrid said with a clap of his hands

Most of the class backed farther away in answer. Even Ron and Hermione had their misgivings. Harry didn't blame them as he glanced back. The Hippogriffs were tossing their fierce heads and flexing their powerful wings; they didn't seem to like being tethered like they were.

"They're actually quite nice if you don't insult them." Harry heard from behind him as he didn't turn to see who said it. He knew it wasn't anyone he knew though.

"No one?" Hagrid said with a pleading look that Harry gave into.

"I'll do it." Harry said, sounding more casual and _far_ braver than he was.

There was an intake of breath from behind him, and both Lavender and Parvati whispered, "Oh no, Harry! Remember your tea leaves!"

"Tea leaves?" Draco whispered in question as his friends shrugged.

Harry ignored them all, focusing on Hagrid as he climbed over the paddock fence.

"Good man, Harry!" Hagrid roared happily as he clapped his hands a few times, "Right then, let's see how yeh get on with Buckbeak."

Hagrid untied one of the chains, pulling the gray Hippogriff away from its fellow creatures, and slipped off its leather collar. The class on the other side of the paddock seemed to be holding its breath. Draco narrowed his eyes, sensing a potentially dangerous situation rising. Draco was about to go and pull Harry away, but Pansy and Blaise kept him back.

"Easy now, Harry." Hagrid said quietly as he kept himself between Harry and Buckbeak. "Yeh've got eye contact, now try not ter blink… Hippogriffs don' trust yeh if yeh blink too much."

Harry's eyes immediately began to water, but he didn't shut them. Buckbeak had turned his great, sharp head and was staring at Harry with one fierce orange eye. Hagrid nodded, approving of Harry's actions.

"Tha's it…" Hagrid said as he moved up a bit, just in case, "Tha's it, Harry… now, bow."

Harry gave Hagrid a fleeting glare, questioning the half-giant's sanity. Harry didn't feel much like exposing the back of his neck to Buckbeak, but he did as he was told. He gave a short bow and then looked up. The Hippogriff was still staring haughtily at him, as if he were a ghost of the past.

The beast didn't move. It was as still as a statue made of stone… that _wasn't_ magical…

"Ah…" Hagrid said, sounding worried, "Right then… back away, now, Harry, easy does-"

But then, to Harry's (and everyone else's) enormous surprise, the Hippogriff suddenly bent its scaly front knees and sank into what was an unmistakable bow. Harry had to admit that Buckbeak did it rather gracefully.

"All right Harry! Well done, Harry!" Hagrid said, clearly ecstatic, "Right. Yeh can touch him now! Pat his beak, go on!"

Harry sent Hagrid another look, feeling that a better reward would have been to back away. Harry sighed as he slowly moved toward the Hippogriff named Buckbeak, reaching out with a shaky left hand as he did. He patted the beak several times and the Hippogriff closed its eyes lazily, as though enjoying it like a dog scratched behind it's ears.

The class broke into applause, all except for Draco's crew. Draco was frowning and looked as worried as Harry imagined Mrs. Weasley would had she been with them. Blaise and Theo shrugged while Pansy was filing her nails and looking on as if it weren't anything special.

"Righ' then, Harry." Hagrid said with a clap to get everyone's attention, "I reckon he migh' let yeh ride him!"

"What? That's far too dangerous." Harry heard Hermione whisper crossly as Ron gulped in fear.

"R-Relax, Hermione… Harry's a natural flyer…" Ron said, trying to sound brave but not quite getting there. Hermione gave him a look that spoke volumes for her concern.

"That's on a broom, Ron!" Hermione exclaimed in a low voice.

Hermione had kind of a point, Harry thought. Plus, this was far more than Harry had bargained for. He was used to a broomstick; but he wasn't sure a Hippogriff would be quite the same.

"Yeh climb up there, jus' behind the wing joint." said Hagrid, "Mind yeh don' pull any of his feathers out, he won' thank yeh for that…"

Harry put his foot on the top of Buckbeak's wing and hoisted himself onto its back. Before Harry could get his bearings on the beast, Buckbeak stood up. Harry wasn't sure where to hold on; everything in front of him was covered with feathers.

"Go on, then! Hold onto the neck." Hagrid roared, slapping the Hippogriff's hindquarters.

Without warning, twelve-foot wings flapped open on either side of Harry, he just had time to seize the Hippogriff around the neck before he was soaring upward. It was nothing like a broomstick, and Harry knew which one he preferred; the Hippogriff's wings beat uncomfortably on either side of him, catching him under his legs and making him feel he was about to be thrown off; the glossy feathers slipped under his fingers and he didn't dare get a stronger grip; instead of the smooth action of his Nimbus Two Thousand, he now felt himself rocking backward and forward as the hindquarters of the Hippogriff rose and fell with its wings.

Buckbeak flew him far; like really far. They had flown out of the forest, above it, and even out onto the lake. Harry had to admit, just like flying a broom, Harry got the sense- the feeling of freedom. True freedom! No worries, no Voldemort, no bickering friends! Just him and flying through the air. He loved it. Flying atop Buckbeak was even greater than flying on a broom, because even without being in control, Harry still felt as free as a bird… umm, well… Hippogriff.

Before Harry knew it, he felt a heavy thud as four large and ill-assorted feet hit the ground. He just managed to hold on however, as he push himself to sit up straight again. The crowd went nuts for him, though he didn't know why. All the while he was immersed in the feeling of freedom there had been the heavy undertone of fear rippling through him.

"Good work, Harry!" Hagrid roared as everyone except Draco, who was taking slow breaths with a hand against his heart, cheered for him and his show, "Okay, who else wants a go?"

* * *

><p>Harry quirked a brow at the class's sudden courage and tenacity. They must have been somewhat emboldened by his act as they all climbed cautiously into the paddock. Hagrid untied the Hippogriffs one by one, and soon people were bowing nervously, all over the paddock while Harry watched on from the side. Neville ran repeatedly backward from his, which didn't seem to want to bend its knees. Ron and Hermione practiced on the chestnut, while Harry watched.<p>

Draco and his friends had taken over Buckbeak. Harry was a bit surprised to see that the proud creature had bowed to Draco, who was now patting its beak, looking blissful but trying to cover his happy look with one of disdain.

"Poor Buckbeak." Harry said jokingly as Draco shot him a look that let Harry know he had been heard.

"This is very easy." Draco drawled, loud enough for Harry to hear him, "I knew it must have been, if Har- I mean _Potter_ could do it… I bet you're not dangerous at all, are you?" Then Draco turned to Harry with a smirking face, "You great ugly brute."

It happened so quick that Hagrid and Harry had nearly missed it. In a flash of steely talons; Draco let out a high pitched girly scream and next moment, Hagrid was wrestling Buckbeak back into his collar as the Hippogriff strained to get at Draco, who lay curled in the grass, blood blossoming over his robes while Harry stood in front of him protectively with his wand drawn. He blinked as he didn't even remember moving from the paddock, bu didn't care much as he turned to Draco, whose friends were already moving toward them.

"I'm dying!" Draco yelled out as the class panicked, "I'm dying, look at me! It's killed me!"

"Dying?" Harry said with a raised brow as he sank to his knees by Draco's body, ripping off Draco's sleeve where the blood was coming from.

Harry gasped a bit as he saw there was a long, deep gash on Draco's pale arm; blood coming from the fresh wound and dropping off Draco onto the grass. Harry took the ripped piece of clothe and tied it to Draco's arm to cover the wound. He took his wand in hand, muttering incantations to himself while Draco seemed to swoon dramatically.

"W-What are you doing?" Draco asked shakily as Harry glanced up at him. The bleeding stopped as Harry got to his feet, dusting his robes off as he did.

"I covered the gash and stopped the bleeding. Madam Pomfrey was a little worried about me last year when I was with her, and then even more so this year. So, before I could leave her presence, she taught me a few simple charms and spells for first-aid. I'm kinda glad she did now…"

"It's killed me, Har-… Potter! I'm dying. There's nothing even _you_ can do to save me." Draco said as he put his good arm to his forehead. Harry rolled his eyes while the others seemed to fall for Draco's act. Pansy and Theo were helping Draco up while Blaise was using charms to clean Draco's robes from the dirt and grass.

"Dying? From that? I've had worst when I was seven. Grow up, _Malfoy_. Or else I'll set fire to your precious hair. Especially since you're dying and all." Harry said with a fierce scowl.

His last words seemed to do the trick as Draco shoved his friends away to grip at his precious blond locks with a horrified look on his face.

"Y-You wouldn't dare…? W-Would you?" Draco asked as Harry narrowed his eyes and frowned.

"Try me." Harry said as Draco started swooning a bit more.

"But I'm dying!" Draco said, pouting childishly as he stomped his foot.

"Yer not dyin'!" Hagrid said when he returned from… wherever he had taken the Hippogriffs into the forest after seeing Harry take care of Draco's wound. Harry noticed that Hagrid had gone very pale, almost a ghostly white, "W-We… I… Someone help me… Gotta get him outta here…"

Hermione ran to hold open the gate as Hagrid lifted Draco into his arms bridal-style, much to Draco's protest and irk while Draco's friends followed, trying to decide whether to sneer at everyone or smirk at Draco's misfortune. Hagrid ran swiftly (far faster than Harry thought Hagrid could move) with Draco in his arms, up the slope toward the castle.

* * *

><p>Though some could tell Draco hadn't been hurt badly enough to die, they were all still badly shaken as they followed Hagrid at a walking pace. The Slytherins, most Harry didn't know, were all shouting about Hagrid.<p>

"They should sack him straight away!" some Slytherin girl Harry didn't know said, her face nearly in tears at seeing Draco "mauled" by that beast.

At least, that's what she was gonna tell everyone…

"It was Malfoy's fault!" Dean snapped as Crabbe and Goyle flexed their muscles threateningly, however, Theo, who had stayed behind, held up a hand to placate them.

They all climbed the stone steps into the deserted Entrance Hall, looking at each other's group in uncertainty.

"I'm going to see if he's okay!" the girl from earlier said as they all watched her run up the marble staircase.

"Ugh, Daphne's baby sister. Thinks Draco likes her." Theo said to Harry with a shrug, "Coming Potter? You did give immediate first-aid, after all."

"Nah, don't need Malfoy in my ear with his dramatics. Try to keep him quiet about this, 'kay? Don't need him telling his father anything, right?" Harry said with a sigh and smile. Theo smirked back at him before turning and waving over his shoulder.

"I suppose, but his father will find out one way or another. Catch ya later, Potter." Theo said as he moved up the stairs like a graceful yet deadly snake. It was then Harry realized that Theodore Nott might have been the real mastermind behind Draco's little running gang.

The other Slytherins departed, all still muttering about Hagrid and his "beast", headed away in the direction of their dungeon common room; Harry and the other Gryffindors proceeded upstairs to Gryffindor Tower.

* * *

><p>"You think he'll be all right? I mean, that gash-" Hermione said nervously as Harry glanced at her.<p>

They had been in the Common Room passing the time with the others, and were now heading down for dinner.

"Course he will. Madam Pomfrey can mend cuts in seconds." Harry said confidently. Hey, he had received far worse injuries in his first two years, and they been perfectly mended with magic by the Hogwarts Matron.

Bless her, she was one of his greatest blessing; what with Voldemort always trying to kill him and all…

"I bet the git will milk it for all it's worth." Ron said before he sighed, looking worriedly toward a wall which Harry guessed Ron wasn't truly looking at, "That was a really bad thing to happen in Hagrid's first class, though, wasn't it? Trust _Malfoy_ to mess things up for him…"

They were among the first to reach the Great Hall at dinnertime, hoping to see Hagrid, but he wasn't there.

"They wouldn't fire him… w-would they?" Hermione said anxiously, not touching her steak-and-kidney pudding.

"They'd better not…" Ron muttered as he simply stared at his plate, not eating either.

Harry, however, was watching the Slytherin table. A large group including Crabbe and Goyle was huddled together, deep in conversation. Harry was sure they were cooking up their own version of how Draco had been injured.

That, however, didn't really bother him, mostly because he suspected it. The thing that bothered him was a fear that had gripped his heart ever since he had stepped foot in the Gryffindor common room, and relaxed his mind. That fear which gripped his heart was if he was going to grow strong enough to keep his friends safe. Draco being injured, even if it wasn't badly, showed Harry his humanity like every other bad thing did.

It reminded him that he was human. He couldn't be fast enough, or strong enough to keep his friends out of danger, but would he be fast or strong enough to keep them safe and protected? He didn't know. His mind kept going back to Jushiro Ukitake and the Soul Reapers' proposition to him. Could they help him gain the power he would need? He was sure that no wizard had their power, because if they did it would have been taught in Hogwarts.

In his first year he and his friends had stumbled through the challenges to get to the Sorcerer's Stone, glad that someone had killed the giant troll before they had gotten there. He had fought on terror and instinct against the Basilisk last year to save Ginny, and he would have died along with Ginny if not for the Sorting Hat and Fawkes the Phoenix. This year there were Dementors all about, and he was sure that the Soul Reapers had ways of dealing with them. They did say that they fought against creatures… umm, Hollows as one of their duties, so they must have come across Dementors at some point.

The real question was, did he want to ask for their help?

* * *

><p>Harry wasn't really paying attention to anything other than his thoughts as he, Ron, and Hermione went up to the crowded Gryffindor common room after dinner and tried to do the homework Professor McGonagall had given them. Ron and Hermione kept breaking off from the work, glancing out of the tower window toward Hagrid's Hut while Harry was simply staring at the parchment in front of him. His thoughts ranged from the wild hopes of seeing his parents should he accept to the frightening need that he should, should anything happen to his friends or the school with this Sirius Black out to get him.<p>

"Hey, there's a light on in Hagrid's window." Ron said suddenly as Harry looked up. Ron looked at his watch and smirked a bit, "If we hurried, we could go down and see him. It's still quite early…"

"I don't know…" Hermione said slowly, and Harry saw her glance at him. She was probably thinking of mothering and shielding him because some murder was out to get him.

As if the last two years of being his female best friend hadn't happened and he wasn't used to near constant death hanging over his head…

"I'm allowed to walk across the grounds." Harry said, pointedly, defiantly as he stood giving Hermione a hard look. He didn't mean to snap, but he was tired of other people trying to make his decisions for him. It was getting bothersome that people were constantly worried about him, yet when the chips were down they let him run head-first stupidly into danger, "Sirius Black hasn't got past the Dementors yet, has he?"

Hermione flinched back at the hard and defiant look Harry was fixing her with. She sighed in defeat, knowing that she was one word away from a tongue-lashing by the last person she'd ever want angry with her. Harry's brand of anger had a way of… shattering the soul, so to speak…

So with her reluctant agreement, they put their things away and headed out of the portrait hole, glad to meet nobody on their way to the front doors, as they weren't entirely sure they were supposed to be out. The grass outside was still wet and looked almost black in the twilight. When they reached Hagrid's hut, they knocked, and a voice growled.

"C'min."

They found Hagrid sitting in his shirtsleeves at his scrubbed wooden table; his boarhound, Fang, had his head in Hagrid's lap. One look told them that Hagrid had been drinking a lot; there was a pewter tankard almost as big as a bucket in front of him, and he seemed to be having difficulty getting them into focus while he swayed a bit in his chair.

"'Spect it's a record…" Hagrid said thickly, when he recognized them, "Don' reckon they've ever had a teacher who lasted on'y a day before."

"You haven't been fired, have you, Hagrid!" Hermione gasped out as they all glanced at her for her blurted out words.

"Not yet…" Hagrid said, looking miserable while he took a huge gulp of whatever was in the tankard, "But it's only a matter o' time, ain't? After Malfoy…"

"How is he?" Ron said suddenly as they all sat down at the table with Hagrid, "It wasn't serious, w-was it?"

"Madam Pomfrey fixed him best she could." Hagrid said dully as he leaned back heavily in his chair, "But he's sayin' it's still agony… still hurts… arm covered in bandages… moanin' about Harry…"

"He's faking it." Harry said at once, though he had to keep his face from getting hot at the mention of Draco moaning about him, "Madam Pomfrey can mend anything. She re-grew the bones in my arm last year and cleared away that… _other_ ailment. Dra-… Malfoy's just milking it."

"School gov'nors have bin told, o' course." Hagrid said, looking miserable all over again. Harry knew why, of course. Draco's father, Lucius Malfoy… "They reckon I started too big. Shoulda left Hippogriffs fer later… one flobberworms or summat… Jus' thought it'd make a good firs' lesson's all… It's all my fault-"

"It's all Malfoy's fault, Hagrid!" Hermione said earnestly as Harry nodded. He didn't think Draco had really done it on purpose, but now that Draco was injured… oh, Harry knew the crocodile tears would be rolling…

"We're witnesses." Harry said as he patted Hagrid large arm, "You said Hippogriffs attack if you insult them… though I don't think Malfoy was doing that. He was joking around with me, ad I guess Buckbeak took it to mean him, and… Listen, it's Malfoy's problem that he wasn't listening when you said that. We'll tell Dumbledore what really happened."

"Yeah, don't worry, Hagrid, we'll back you up." Ron said.

Tears leaked out of the crinkled corners of Hagrid's beetle-black eyes. He grabbed both Harry and Ron and pulled them into a bone-breaking hug.

"I think you've had enough to drink, Hagrid." Hermione said firmly and Harry agreed with her, smelling some kind of rum on his half-giant friend's breath. She took the tankard from the table and went outside to empty it.

"Ah, maybe she's right…" Hagrid said, letting go of Harry and Ron, who both staggered away, rubbing their ribs. Hagrid heaved himself out of his chair and followed Hermione unsteadily outside. It was quiet for a second before they heard a loud splash and Hermione gasp.

"What's he done?" Harry asked nervously when Hermione came back in with the empty tankard.

"Stuck his head in the water barrel." Hermione answered with a shrug, putting the tankard away.

Hagrid came back, his long hair and beard sopping wet, wiping the water out of his eyes and from his face.

"That's much better…" Hagrid said, shaking his head like a dog and drenching them all, "Listen, it was good of yeh ter come an' see me, I really-"

Hagrid stopped dead, staring at Harry as though he'd only just realized he was there. Harry got the feeling Hagrid was about to go on his list of "People That Annoyed Him With Their Overprotecting Ways".

"What do you think you're doin' out here!" Hagrid roared, so suddenly and clearly that they jumped a foot in the air, "You are not to go wanderin' around after dark, Harry! And you two, lettin' him!" Hagrid said, shooting Ron and Hermione disappointed looks as he strode over to Harry, grabbed his arm, and pulled him to the door.

"C'mon!" Hagrid said angrily, his normal speech pattern back in full effect, "I'm takin' yer all back up ter school, an' don' let me catch yeh walkin' down ter see me after dark again. I'm not worth it! Not that!"

Hagrid dragged Harry all the way up to the castle, and made sure they were inside before he left giving them a stern warning to stay inside. While Hermione and Ron opted to just go to bed, Harry was still thinking on things.

He didn't want to admit it, but if Voldemort simply stopped planning things and came to kill him, Harry was sure that the man would succeed. Harry didn't have even an ounce of the magical knowledge he heard Voldemort had. Even Dumbledore didn't want to fight the man unless necessary. People feared to speak the man's name, even if they thought him dead and gone.

And if Voldemort was supposed to be dead, then why weren't the Soul Reapers worried about him? It was then Harry decided to pay a special visit to see Jushiro Ukitake and the other Soul Reapers.

"Harry, where are you going? The dorm's this way." Hermione said as Harry glanced back at her.

"I'm going walking for a bit. Don't follow me, I just wanna clear my head." Harry said, and before either of his friends could protest, he had turned a corner and hid. He saw them rush to where he was, and look around for him, only to sigh.

"How'd he do that? I wanna learn that trick." Ron said as Hermione huffed.

"He probably had his cloak stashed away on him." Hermione said with a sigh before she and Ron left for bed.

* * *

><p>Harry made his way, quietly and stealth-fully up to the Seventh Floor. The only problem was, two people were watching him from afar.<p>

"What's this then?" one asked as the other grinned.

"Harry Potter, up on the seventh floor? Interesting…" the second said as he and the first exchanged amused looks, but then the first looked confused.

"Why's he pacing the floor?" the first asked as the second shrugged.

"Not sure, maybe he's copying Dumbledore?"

"Dumbledore does seem to do that a lot in his office, doesn't he?"

"Indeed he does-… Harry's gone!"

"What? What the… He really is gone!"

"Oh, this isn't good. With Sirius Black out there-"

"If Black had come and claimed him, then we would have seen it. Harry just… disappeared on his own."

"Yeah he did. The only question is: to where?"

* * *

><p>"Ahh, you came back! We weren't expecting to see you so soon again, Har." the voice of Shunsui Kyoraku rang out as he tipped his hat back to look at Harry properly. Harry smiled sheepishly.<p>

"Hello, Mr. Kyoraku-"

"Mr. Kyoraku is my _father's_ name. Call me Shunsui." Kyoraku… umm, _Shunsui_ said as Harry nodded.

"Mr.-"

"_Just_ Shunsui, Harry." Shunsui said as Harry nodded once again, feeling a bit embarrassed at calling a man of Shunsui's age by his first name.

"Shunsui… I'm sorry about the whole, fainting thing." Harry said as Shunsui waved his off.

"No need to apologize. You're not the first to faint, and you certainly won't be the last. I'll admit it was a lot of information for you, but you at least waited for the most shocking part to faint. Ha, I would have been out by the time we mentioned ninjas." Shunsui said, and Harry felt himself grow a bit lighter and more comfortable with the whole thing.

Shunsui seemed to be a really easy person to talk to and get along with…

"I… I came to a decision." Harry said quietly as Shunsui raised a brow.

"Oh, so quickly? Ya sure you don't want more time to think about it? It's only been a day." Shunsui said, and Harry got the feeling Shunsui's eyes held more focus to them than earlier. It was like he was looking at a wise old man who had seen many battles and deaths, rather than the hippie-like man who was in his early 40's that Shunsui looked to be.

"You… You know what I'm gonna say, don't you?" Harry asked, nervously, especially when Shunsui nodded, his gaze sharp and clear.

"Just say it." Shunsui urged gently as Harry took a deep breath.

"I don't want to get involved. I'm sorry… Mr. Kyoraku."


	6. Boggarts and New Beginnings!

_**And here we get to one of the crucial apexes of the story. It is here that Harry will start to see that talking to others can be both helpful and something… not so helpful. However, the most important part in this chapter will be Harry's starting to see that maybe he made his decision a little too quickly, and will reflect back on his new Soul Reaper pals and how they've helped it. It is here that Harry will start to see that maybe getting involved in even more dangerous stuff isn't such a bad thing.**_

_**Hope you enjoy.**_

**Chapter 6: Boggarts and New Beginnings!**

* * *

><p>"I… I came to a decision, Shunsui." Harry said quietly as Shunsui raised a brow, his hands together in his sleeves like Harry had heard of Asian people doing.<p>

"Oh, so quickly? Ya sure you don't want more time to think about it? It's only been a day." Shunsui said, and Harry got the feeling that Shunsui's eyes held more focus and seriousness to them than earlier. It was like he was looking into the eyes of a wise old man who had seen many battles and deaths, rather than the hippie-like man who was in his early 40's that Shunsui looked to be.

"You… You know what I'm gonna say, don't you?" Harry asked, nervously, especially when Shunsui nodded, his gaze sharp and clear.

"Just say it." Shunsui urged gently as Harry took a deep breath.

"I don't want to get involved. I'm sorry… Mr. Kyoraku."

"Now Harry, didn't I _just_ say to call me Shunsui? Or did you think your choice would affect that?" Shunsui said teasingly as he grinned down at Harry.

"But I said I'm _not_ going to do it. You asked me to be your liaison to the Wizarding World, and I refused. You told me a lot of things about the Soul Society and it's structure. I wasted your time." Harry blurted out as Shunsui shrugged.

"So? Harry, your not the first to refuse something from the Court Guard Squads. A lot of potential Soul Reapers refuse because of the way some Soul Reapers treat the people of Rukon. Some nobles refuse Central 46's laws to be imposed on their families. Even the Head-Captain sometimes refuses to do the bidding of Central 46. Choice is a powerful thing that everyone has, some more so than others, but it's always ours; whether we think so or not. You choose to fight Voldemort instead of letting others die, and you choose to not get involved with us for reasons of your own." Shunsui said as Harry gaped at him.

Just how wise was Shunsui…?

"I… I wanna help, but I don't think I can. I'm just Harry, how could I help you guys? You're from Heaven, why would you need _my_ help with _anything_! Besides, I've only just learned I was a wizard a few years ago, and becoming an a-agent of H-Heaven… It's all just a little too much for me to handle." Harry said as Shunsui nodded with a thoughtful look.

"You're right, but none the less I'm sorry." a new voice said. Harry jumped, turning around to see Jushiro Ukitake with a saddened look on his face while he smiled, "We were really hoping you would help us, but we respect your decision. I'm sure you have your reasons."

Harry felt like scum saying no to them when they were being so nice about it all.

"I want to help, but I don't see how I could. I don't know that much about the Wizarding World, and even then… I'm sorry. My friends and I… all the people that know me end up in danger enough as it is. If Heaven has an _army_, I'm sure you have enemies too. Those creatures you talked about… the Hollows, you said it was your job to destroy them, didn't you? That means they can't be taking that well with a cup of tea. I'm sure you've made even more enemies than just them as well. I'm not strong enough to defend my friends from much danger, and bringing even more claws to our necks wouldn't be right. I don't want to endanger my friends just because I want to be even more selfish than I already am…" Harry said with his head down, looking away from them. He couldn't even look them in the eye.

He was being selfish again… and he hated it. But, if his friends got hurt simply because he wanted to see his parents or help even more people…

"We understand, Harry." Jushiro Ukitake said with a friendly smile, "You have your own people to protect. That shows much honor and love."

"Yeah, it really does." Shunsui said as Jushiro nodded.

"Just remember, Harry, that we're here for you as well. If you ever need anyone to talk to, or just want to learn more about the Soul Society, then feel free to come back and have a chat with us." Jushiro said as Shunsui nodded with a grin.

"Yeah, doing paperwork, and watching the others is a bit boring. Come have a drink with us every now and then." Shunsui said as Jushiro looked at him in surprise.

"Shunsui! He's too young to drink! The World of the Living has laws against under-aged drinking." Jushiro admonished as Shunsui blinked ins surprise.

"What? Really? Well… crap. Oh well, just come have a good cup of tea with us then. But if you ever want anything stronger than just tea, then I know this perfect drink…"

"Shunsui!"

Harry found himself laughing at the pair. They were like long-lost brothers, or best mates the way they got on. It was refreshing to see two people like them. He hoped he and Ron could be like that someday. When Harry walked away from Jushiro and Shunsui that day, he found that he felt better than he had in weeks. They talked to him like nothing mattered, and there were never any mysteries with them like there were with Dumbledore. Shunsui might have been a bit poetic and moral with his talks, and Jushiro the same, Harry found out the white-haired man valued honor and good traits greatly.

They were both his confides for the week. He told them everything and they'd give him exactly what they thought about it. When he told them about Draco and his injuries along with the way the blond wasn't in classes for the week, Shunsui made the remark that maybe Draco was pining for his attention. When he told them about how people were mothering him, Jushiro told him that people were overprotective of him because they loved him and thought him too important. The white-haired Captain said they would rather him be safe and annoyed, rather than in danger.

Harry grew to be more comfortable around all the Soul Reapers through the week.

He found that Mayuri Kurotsuchi might have looked and acted strange, but was an okay person. The guy liked to discover new things and invent things. Science made the guy crazy with possibilities, and Harry was reminded of Hermione with her own obsession with knowledge. Mayuri had run several blood tests on him, also taking his magic (which felt like a pull at the air inside of him) to study it and see where he'd fit in the ranks of Soul Society. Mayuri never told him the answers, but every time he saw Harry he'd mutter "interesting, very interesting…", so Harry figured it was a good thing.

Lisa was like Ron… except way more physical. She liked to touch him. Her way of greeting him was by pinching his bottom, or groping his… bottom front area. She was extremely blunt, and while Harry didn't mind it most of the time, the young woman could embarrass others with her blunt language sometimes.

There were others as well, like a young Asian girl. Harry didn't know her name, but the girl was very cold toward others. She treated him indifferent, like his existence didn't matter one way or the other to her, and he found that he enjoyed not mattering to someone. She was, apparently, one of the ninja that made up the Stealth Force of the Soul Society. Harry had seen her training, and he had to admit that she was good.

Then there was a gentle giant of a man, roughly the same size as Hagrid. His name was Hachigen "Hachi" Ushoda, and he was a very nice man. The man was soft-spoken, gentle, kind-hearted, and very easy to get along with. Harry found himself befriending the man as quickly as he had Jushiro and Shunsui. Harry was reminded of Hagrid, but Hachi was gentle, unlike Hagrid's rough around the edges way.

* * *

><p>It wasn't until Thursday, that Harry had any real problems. Most of his classes were going great, but when he woke up, he groaned because it meant it would be their first day of Double Potions with the Slytherins. He got up and got ready for the day. Hermione, Ron, and many others had been questioning him to where he went for the past week, but he found that they wouldn't question him for long if he let his annoyance show. Hermione pushed him on the issue the most, and Harry was sure that she had been following him because she said she had seen him making his way to the seventh floor a few times. Harry told her, very bluntly, that if she tried following him again she wouldn't like what happened. He wasn't sure if the Soul Reapers would take too kindly to her snooping, so he warned her just in case. She, however in typical Hermione form, took it as a threat to her person and hadn't spoken to him since yesterday. Ron shrugged it off, saying that he'd like to know, but didn't wanna get hexed for it.<p>

Harry made his way down to the dungeons by himself. Ever since he had helped Draco with the Hippogriff wound, the Slytherins hadn't bothered him much. Harry came around a corner, and suddenly found himself flanked on both sides by Blaise and Theo.

"Hey, Potter." Theo said lazily as Harry nodded to him.

"Party Potter." Blaise greeted with a smirk as Harry raised a brow, having learned that Blaise was the strangely friendly and care-free Ron of Draco's group.

"Blaise, Theodore." Harry said as Theo gave him an annoyed look.

"Theo, Potter. Why is that so hard to remember?" Theo hissed as Harry smirked.

"Why is Harry so hard for you two?" Harry asked back as Theo shrugged.

"Calling you Potter sounds cooler than Harry." Blaise said as Harry rolled his eyes.

"No, it makes you sound like Snape." Harry said as Theo grimaced and Blaise grinned.

"Then we are cool. Have you ever seen a more stoic guy? When you're not around, Snape is like one of those impassive people that have everyone confused as to whose side he's on." Blaise said as Harry rolled his eyes, but had to admit that he had no clue about Snape's side. He was a teacher that hated him because of his father, but then the guy saved him and tried to protect him.

Just what side was Snape really on anyway…?

Potions class had been a real act of drama. Draco had walked in halfway through and Snape had made Ron take care of Draco. Draco had protested for it to be Harry, but Snape refused for some reason as he scowled at Draco and then shot Harry a death glare. Draco had pouted the entire time and made Ron miserable. Harry kept shooting Draco looks for that, and Draco at least backed off afterward. They got through Potions with only twenty points being deducted from Gryffindor, but that was normal. Seamus had also told him that Sirius Black had been sighted somewhere near Hogwarts, but Harry really didn't care much. Draco had tried to tell him why Black was after him, but Snape interrupted so he could try and embarrass Neville, who had gotten Hermione's help which resulted in the lost of five of their twenty points.

Lunch had come and gone with nothing notable. Hermione kept shooting Harry looks, but he didn't care. She was bossy, pushy, a know-it-all, and high condescending, but she was his friend and he put up with it because he saw the good in her. She needed to get over herself sometime, and see that he , like many others, wouldn't always see the better in her with her way of stepping on our people's traditions and culture simply because _she_ didn't agree with them. Ron tried talking to her, but Harry saw that after some time, Hermione had only stomped off while Ron came back looking angry about something. He stabbed at his food and ate like a beast un-caged.

* * *

><p>Then came their first Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Professor Lupin wasn't there when they arrived at his first Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson. They all sat down, took out their books, quills, and parchment, before they started talking.<p>

When he finally entered the room, Lupin smiled vaguely and placed his shabby old briefcase on his teacher's desk. He was as shabby as ever but looked healthier than he had on the train, as though he had had a few square meals.

"Good afternoon, class." Professor Lupin said with a smile, "Would you please put all your books back in your bags. Today's will be a practical lesson. You will need only your wands."

After a few curious looks were exchanged, the class put away their books. They had never had a practical Defense Against the Dark Arts class before, unless you counted the memorable class last year when their old teacher, Gilderoy Lockhart (the fraud he was), had brought a cage full of pixies to class and set them loose.

"Right then…" Professor Lupin said, when everyone was ready. "If you'd follow me."

Puzzled but interested, the class got to its feet and followed Professor Lupin out of the classroom. He led them along the deserted corridor and around a corner, where the first thing they saw was Peeves the Poltergeist, who was floating upside down in midair and stuffing the nearest keyhole with chewing gum.

Peeves didn't look up until Professor Lupin was two feet away; then he wiggled his curly-toed feet and broke into song.

"Loony, Loopy Lupin!" Peeves sang, "Loony, Loopy Lupin, Loopy, Loony Lupin…!"

Rude and unmanageable as he almost always was, Peeves usually showed _some_ respect toward the teachers. Everyone quickly looked to Professor Lupin to see how he would take this; to their surprise, he was still smiling.

"I'd take that gum out of the keyhole if I were you, Peeves." Lupin said pleasantly with his hands in his pockets, "Mr. Filch won't be able to get in to his brooms."

Filch was the Hogwarts caretaker, a bad-tempered, Squib who waged constant war against the students and, indeed, Peeves. However, Peeves paid no attention to Professor Lupin's words, except to blow a loud wet raspberry at the man.

Professor Lupin gave a small sigh and took out his wand.

"This is a useful little spell." Lupin said over his shoulder to them as he gave them a smile, "Please watch closely."

Professor Lupin raised his wand to shoulder height. He gazed at Peeves with a small glint in his eyes, as though he were reliving some lost part of himself.

"_**Waddiwasi**_!" Professor Lupin said as he pointed his wand at Peeves, whose eyes widened when, with the force of a bullet, the wad of chewing gum shot out of the keyhole and straight up… or down Peeves's left nostril. Peeves thrashed about in the air before he whirled upright and zoomed away, cursing at the world.

"Cool, sir!" Dean and Seamus said in perfect unison.

"Thank you, Dean, Seamus." Lupin said, putting his wand away, "Shall we proceed then?"

They set off again, the class looking at shabby Professor Lupin with increased respect. He led them down a second corridor and stopped, right outside the staffroom door.

"Inside, please." Professor Lupin said gently, opening it and standing back.

The staffroom, a long, paneled room full of old, mismatched chairs, was empty except for one teacher. Professor Snape was sitting in a low armchair, and he looked around as the class filed in. His eyes were glittering and there was a nasty sneer playing around his mouth. As Professor Lupin came in and made to close the door behind him, Snape spoke.

"Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this." Snape said, almost mockingly as he got to his feet and strode past the class, his black robes billowing behind him like an overgrown bat. At the doorway he turned on his heel and said, "Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear."

Neville went scarlet, and Harry glared at Snape; it was bad enough that he bullied Neville in his own classes, let alone doing it in front of other teachers.

Professor Lupin had raised his eyebrow coolly as he smiled at Snape. Harry wasn't sure he would ever be able to smile while Snape was mere feet away from him.

"I was hoping that Neville here would assist me with the first stage of the operation." Lupin said idly as he winked at Neville, "And I'm sure he will perform it admirably."

Neville's face went, if possible, even redder. Snape's lip curled, but he left, shutting the door with a snap. Harry was sure that Snape hated him, Professor Lupin, and Neville with a passion the way the man gave him a glancing glare before he left.

'Now, then…" Professor Lupin said, beckoning the class toward the end of the room, where there was nothing but an old wardrobe where the teachers kept their spare robes. As Professor Lupin went to stand next to it, the wardrobe gave a sudden wobble, banging off the wall.

"Nothing to worry about." Professor Lupin said calmly because a few people had jumped backward in alarm, "There's just a Boggart in there."

Most people seemed to feel that this was something to worry about. Neville gave Professor Lupin a look of pure terror, and Seamus eyed the now rattling doorknob apprehensively. Ron looked worried as well, but Harry didn't know why. Was this Boggart thing something to truly cause worry? He supposed so with the step back most of the class had taken.

"Boggarts… like dark, enclosed spaces." Professor Lupin said as he paced in front the banging and shaking wardrobe, "Wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sinks — I've even met one that had lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the Headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my third years some practice."

"So, the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a Boggart?" Lupin said as Hermione put up her hand.

The thing that caught Harry and others off-guard was the fact that Hermione hadn't been with the class until just then. Harry narrowed his eyes. Something was up with Hermione.

"It's a shape-shifter." Hermione said. "It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most."

"Couldn't have put it better myself." Professor Lupin said with a small smile, and Hermione glowed from the praise, "So the Boggart sitting in the darkness within has not yet assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a Boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears."

"This means…" Lupin said, choosing to ignore Neville's small sputter of terror, "that we have a huge advantage over the Boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it, Harry?"

Trying to answer a question with Hermione next to him, bobbing up and down on the balls of her feet with her hand in the air, was very off-putting, but Harry only rolled his eyes after giving his friend a glance.

"Because there are so many of us, it won't know what shape it should take?" Harry answered as Lupin beamed.

"Precisely!" Professor Lupin said as Hermione put her hand down, looking a little disappointed.

"Gees Mione, aren't I allowed to know some things?" Harry whispered teasingly to Hermione, who's only response was to childishly stick her tongue out at him.

"It's always best to have company when you're dealing with a Boggart. He becomes confused. Which should he become; a headless corpse or a flesh-eating slug? I once saw a Boggart make that very mistake; tried to frighten two people at once and turned himself into half a slug. Not remotely frightening."

"The charm that repels a Boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see, the thing that really finishes a Boggart is laughter. What you need to do is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing." Lupin said as he un-tucked a hand from his pocket, "We will practice the charm- umm… _without_ wands first. After me, please… _riddikulus_!"

"_Riddikulus_!" said the class together as Lupin nodded.

"Very good…" Professor Lupin said as he glanced back at the wardrobe, "Very good. But that was the easy part, I'm afraid. You see, the word alone is not enough. And this is where you come in, Neville."

The wardrobe shook again, though not as much as Neville, who walked forward as though he were heading for the gallows, moved to stand next to Professor Lupin.

"Right then, Neville." Professor Lupin said as he gently patted Neville's shoulder, "First things first: what would you say is the thing that frightens you most in the world?"

Neville's lips moved, but no noise came out.

"I didn't catch that, Neville, sorry." Professor Lupin said, oddly cheerfully as he smiled.

Neville looked around rather wildly, as though begging someone to help him, then said, in barely more than a whisper, "Professor Snape."

Nearly everyone laughed, even Neville grinned apologetically. Harry chuckled lightly at the thought. Professor Lupin, however, looked thoughtful.

"Professor Snape… hmmm… Frightens us all… Neville, I believe you live with your grandmother?" Professor Lupin said as Neville nodded shakily.

"Err… yes." said Neville nervously. "But, I don't want the Boggart to turn into h-her either."

"No, no, you misunderstand me." Professor Lupin said, now smiling somewhat mischievously, "I want you to picture your Grandmother's clothes in your mind, Neville."

Neville looked startled, but said, "Well… she carries a big red handbag-"

"In your mind, Neville." Professor Lupin said lightly as he moved behind Neville, "Can you picture those clothes very clearly, Neville? Can you see them in your mind's eye?"

"Y-Yes." Neville said uncertainty, plainly wondering what was coming next.

"When the Boggart bursts out of this wardrobe, Neville, and sees you, it will assume the form of Professor Snape." Lupin said as he took out his wand as the wardrobe wobbled more violently.

"If Neville is successful, the Boggart is likely to shift his attention to each of us in turn." Professor Lupin said as he looked around the room at his students, "I would like all of you to take a moment now to think of the thing that scares you most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical."

The room went quiet. Harry started thinking of his own fears…

What scared him most? What would he fear so greatly that he would rather flight than fight?

His first thought was of Voldemort, or rather Voldemort returned to full strength. But before he had even started to plan a possible counterattack on a Boggart-Voldemort, a horrible image came floating to the surface of his mind…

A rotting, glistening hand, slithering back beneath a black cloak… a long, rattling breath from an unseen mouth… then a cold so penetrating it felt like drowning…

Harry shivered, then looked around, hoping no one had noticed. Many people had their eyes shut tight. Ron was muttering to himself, "Take its legs off…" Harry was sure he knew what that was about; Ron's greatest fear was of spiders after all.

"Everyone ready?" Professor Lupin asked as Harry felt a lurch of fear. He wasn't ready, not at all. How could you make a Dementor less frightening? But he didn't want to ask for more time; everyone else was nodding and rolling up their sleeves like they were about to do the dirtiest job of all.

"Neville, we're going to back away." Professor Lupin said quietly, though they all heard him, "Let you have a clear field, all right? I'll call the next person forward… Everyone back, now, so Neville can get a clear shot."

They had all retreated, even before their shabby teacher had finished speaking. They were all backed against the walls, leaving Neville alone in front the wardrobe. He looked pale and frightened, but he had pushed up the sleeves of his robes and was holding his wand at the ready.

"On the count of three, Neville," said Professor Lupin, who was pointing his own wand at the handle of the wardrobe. "One — two — three —now!"

A jet of sparks shot from the end of Professor Lupin's wand and hit the doorknob. The wardrobe burst open. Hook-nosed and menacing, Professor Snape stepped out, his eyes flashing dangerously at Neville as though he was gonna kill the frightened boy. Harry had to admit that even he was a bit put off by the scene in front of him.

Neville backed away, his wand up, mouthing wordlessly. Snape was bearing down upon him, reaching inside his robes.

"_**R-Riddikulus**_!" Neville squeaked out as he pointed his wand shakily at the Boggart-Snape.

There was a noise like a whip crack. Snape stumbled back, his jet black robes turning into a long, lace-trimmed dress and a towering hat topped with a moth-eaten vulture while swinging a huge crimson handbag right before their eyes.

"All right, Neville!" Seamus cheered from the wall as a roar of laughter came from the class. The Boggart paused, clearly confused, as Professor Lupin moved pass it to but a record on the player.

"Good work, Neville! Parvati! Forward!" Lupin roared cheerfully as Parvati walked forward, her face set.

Snape rounded on the girl. There was another crack, and where he had stood was a giant of a king cobra. It hissed and showed it's fangs. It flexed it's hood as though proving it's worth and then slithered forward.

"_**Riddikulus**_!" cried Parvati.

A bandage unraveled at the mummy's feet; it became entangled, fell face forward, and its head rolled off.

"Seamus!" Professor Lupin roared over the laughter and music.

Seamus darted past Parvati, slapping the girl a high-five as he did.

Crack! Where the mummy had been was a woman with floor-length black hair and a skeletal, green-tinged face — a banshee. She opened her mouth wide and an unearthly sound filled the room, a long, wailing shriek that made the hair on Harry's head stand on end-

"_**Riddikulus**_!" shouted Seamus as the banshee made a rasping noise and clutched her throat; her voice was gone.

Crack! The banshee turned into a rat, which chased its tail in a circle, then —crack!- became a rattlesnake, which slithered and writhed before —crack! — becoming a single, bloody eyeball.

"It's confused!" Lupin shouted over his music, "We're getting there! Dean!"

Dean hurried forward, his robes billowing in his wake as he and Seamus bumped fists.

Crack! The eyeball became a severed hand, which flipped over and began to creep along the floor like a crab. Dean shuddered and flinched back at the sight.

"Ahh, crap! I hate Thing from the Adams Family! _**Riddikulus**_!" Dean yelled after groaning.

There was a snap, and the hand was trapped in a mousetrap.

"Excellent! Ron, you next!"

Ron leapt forward, giving Dean a nod as he brandished his wand like a sword. (_Epic Foreshadowing_!)

Crack!

Quite a few people screamed. A giant spider, six foot-tall and covered in hair, was advancing on Ron, clicking its large pincers menacingly. For a moment, Harry thought Ron had frozen. Then-

"_**Riddikulus**_!" Ron bellowed as he slashed his wand forward like a whip. The spider's legs vanished as it rolled over and over; Lavender Brown squealed and ran out of its way and it came to a halt at Harry's feet. Harry hurriedly raised his wand in hand, ready to defeat his worst fear, but-

"Here!" Professor Lupin shouted suddenly, hurrying forward. Crack!

The legless spider had vanished. For a second, everyone looked wildly around to see where it was. Then they saw a silvery-white orb hanging in the air in front of Lupin, who said, "_**Riddikulus**_!" almost lazily.

Crack!

"Forward, Neville, and finish him off!" Lupin said as the Boggart landed on the floor as a cockroach. Crack! Snape was back and looked as menacing as ever. This time Neville charged forward looking determined.

"Riddikulus!" Neville shouted, and they had a split second's view of Snape in his lacy dress before Neville let out a great bellow of laughter, and the Boggart exploded, burst into a thousand tiny wisps of smoke, and was gone.

"Excellent!" Professor Lupin said with a clap before the whole class broke into applause, "Excellent, Neville. Well done, everyone… Let me see… five points to Gryffindor for every person to tackle the Boggart… ten for Neville because he did it twice, and… five each to Hermione and Harry."

"But I didn't do anything." Harry said tightly with narrowed eyes and clenched fists.

Why was it that every time he tried to stand up for himself, that every time he thought he'd have some small measure of freedom, someone had to go and take it away. He was glad for Neville having faced his fears, and for Ron too, but he was so tired of others stepping on his toes to try and "protect him" from the "unknown" only because they never told him anything to begin with!

"You and Hermione answered my questions correctly at the start of the class, Harry," Lupin said lightly, looking as though he had been hurt, "Very well, everyone, an excellent lesson. Homework, kindly read the chapter on Boggarts and summarize it for me… to be handed in on Monday. That will be all."

Talking excitedly, the class left the staffroom. Harry, however, wasn't feeling cheerful. In fact, he was annoyed and furious at the same time. Professor Lupin had _deliberately_ stopped him from facing off against the Boggart! Why? Was it because he'd seen Harry collapse on the train, and thought he wasn't "up to much"? Had he thought Harry would pass out again? Harry hated only two things; those that did evils like Voldemort and when people took pity on him.

He didn't want anyone's pity, _dammit_!

But no one else seemed to have noticed anything; not Professor Lupin stepping in and not Harry's foul mood.

"Did you see me take that banshee?" Seamus shouted as he and Neville high-fived.

"And the hand!" Dean said, waving his own around while Seamus chuckled at him.

"You're afraid of the Addams Family! Ha!"

"I am not! It's just Thing! He creeps me out!"

"And Snape in that hat and dress!"

"And my snake!"

"I wonder why Professor Lupin's frightened of crystal balls?" Lavender said thoughtfully with a finger to her chin.

"That was the best Defense Against the Dark Arts lesson we've ever had, wasn't it?" Ron said excitedly as they made their way back to the classroom to get their bags.

"He seems like a very good teacher. Making us conquer our fears by laughing at them." Hermione said approvingly with a nod before she sighed, "But I wish I could have had a turn with the Boggart-"

"What would it have been, failing all of your classes?" Ron mucked as Hermione stuck her tongue out at him and chuckled a bit, "Or maybe a piece of homework that only got nine out of ten?"

"Shut up!" Hermione said while laughing. Then she noticed something; Harry was gone.

"Where'd Harry go?" Hermione said as Ron looked about before shrugging.

"Don't know." Ron said as Hermione huffed irritably.

"I really wish he'd stop disappearing on us. I'm worried about him. That much time to himself can't be a good thing." Hermione said as she shouldered her bag when they reached the classroom. She noticed that Harry's bag was gone as well. She wondered if she should _it_ to- No! She couldn't! That would be using _it_ against her friend who had the right to his privacy and Professor McGonagall didn't give _it_ to her to spy on others or to invade their privacy.

"Hermione, are you okay? You seem out of it." Ron said with his hand to her forehead. He hoped she was getting sick. Her face was all red all of a sudden while she shook it violently.

"I'm fine, Ron!" Hermione squeaked out as she tried to regain her composure, "Let's go."

Ron followed after her brisk pace. He wondered if her mood and daydreaming had anything to do with Harry.

* * *

><p>"So you're say your Professor wouldn't let you face this… Boggart? A creature that assumed the form of you worst fears? And he allowed the others to challenge it, but when it got to you he stopped the lesson?" Jushiro said as Harry nodded to the retelling.<p>

"Yeah, and I'm a bit annoyed that he did. Everyone is allows trying to mother me and keep things from me. I'm sick of it! It's my life, ya know? I want to live it, not have other people puppet me around all the bloody time. I just want to-"

"Be free?" Shunsui said with a sip of his tea, "Maybe he feared that your fear would be the Voldemort fellow? Having something like that in a classroom filled with children who grew up just fearing the name wouldn't be good for the morale of the first day, now would it?" Shunsui pointed out as he took off his hat, laying it on the table while Harry sighed.

"I guess your right… But if that was my fear, then I should have had the right to face it just like Ron faced his spider or Neville with Snape." Harry said as Jushiro nodded.

"You're right, you should have been able to face up to your fears. That was an un-honorable thing for your Professor to do; taking away your chance simply because the children fear this Voldemort as well. However, you must also see things from his view. If a Voldemort, fake or not, appeared as your worst fear, then what would he be able to do when the class panicked? How could he contain such a thing when everyone's worst fear suddenly shifted to the one he suspected of yours? In a situation like this, you have to look at the whole and not simply yourself." Jushiro said as Harry lowered his head in shame. He hadn't thought about it that way, and now he felt kinda bad for getting angry about the whole thing.

"Don't get us wrong, you could still be angry." Shunsui started, "He didn't even bother to explain to you what he did and why he did it. However, you have to think about more than just yourself when things happen. A good leader thinks of the whole and not the few."

"Leader? But I don't wanna be a leader… much. I just want to be me, to live my life how I want. At eleven it was BAM; you're a wizard, now go to wizard school. Then it was problem after problem that people never said what they meant, always a mystery with them and their words. Last Year it was a House-elf named Dobby who was like BAM; Harry Potter mustn't go back to Hogwarts. I just wish that the people who I call friends, family, and mentors were more open and forward with me, ya know? I feel like they don't trust me, and…" Harry said before he leaned back in his chair with a sigh, raking his hand through his hair, "It's only because my home life is so bad that I don't question returning to Hogwarts. Some times I do, though. I ask myself why go back when all they'll do is be vague and mysterious with me again. I ask myself why have friends who know more about what's going on than I do when it's all centered around me and they won't tell me. I just feel like they don't trust me with my own life; to live my own life…"

Jushiro and Shunsui had no clue what to say to that. They all sat in silence for a long time until Shunsui sighed.

"Listen Harry, I won't lie to you; all of that seems pretty crappy." Shunsui said as Harry grimaced.

"Thanks." Harry said deadpanned.

"You're welcome. Anyways, I'm sure they have their reasons for what they do. Maybe they feel like you'd be hurt worst if you knew, rather than staying ignorant. Sometimes, Har, it hurts worst to know something." Shunsui said as Harry nodded, though he didn't quite understand.

"I can see that you don't understand what he's saying, but you will someday. And when that day comes, you'll be more mature because of it." Jushiro said as Harry nodded again with a small smile.

"You sound kind of like Dumbledore." Harry said as Jushiro chuckled and Shunsui grinned.

"Well, I'd like to meet the man, but our business of protecting all of you is supposed to be a top-level secret." Jushiro said with a smile.

"Knowing Professor Dumbledore, he already knows about you all, and your being here." Harry said as Jushiro and Shunsui exchanged looks before shrugging. They were about to start up another conversation when a knock came to their door.

"Enter." Jushiro said as a member of his squad opened the door.

"Captain Ukitake, Captain Kyoraku, Captain Potter," the unseated member greeted. Harry had always wondered why they greeted him with the rank off Captain, but Shunsui seemly joked that he was know a leader and that his first job would be to do their paperwork. Harry had looked at one of the forms, and decided never to bring the topic up ever again, "Sirs, there is a problem with the barrier protecting the school."

"Barrier? Problem?" Harry asked as he and his two Captain friends looked serious.

"Yes. There is a small break in the barrier that repels the Dementors from entering Hogwarts. It's too small for them to break the barrier or slip in, but it's still there." the man said as he bowed to the three.

"Hmm…" Jushiro hummed in thought before looking at Harry, "What do you think we should do Harry?"

"Why ask me? I'm not a leader." Harry said as Shunsui grinned.

"Nonsense! The rookies are already calling you Captain and they all come to you when we're not around. Heck, even Mayuri and Soi Fon are respectful of you. The only thing you're missing is the haori and the large quantities of paperwork. Now tell this young man the orders, _Captain Potter_." Shunsui said as Harry sighed. He didn't understand why the two did this to him.

"Umm… I guess station some of those ninja near the break and have some at key points around the barrier. That way, if any of the Dementors slip through or something, then the ninja could take them out or at least warn the Captains here." Harry said the member nodded. Jushiro and Shunsui looked thoughtful before they nodded as well. Overly simple, yet still effective. They liked it.

"You heard your Captain, rookie. Have the Stealth Force take up key points around the crack in the barrier. Station other members of the Divisions all around the barrier, and if it should fail then have them hold the Dementors off until we can get there." Shunsui said as the unseated member nodded and walked out.

"That was a good call, Harry." Jushiro said as Harry narrowed his eyes at the two.

"I thought I said no to your offer. I don't want to join you guys or be your liaison." Harry said with an edge in his voice.

"And you did, but think of this as a little fun and preparation for the future. Younger leaders than you have been made." Jushiro said as Harry frowned, but it was more to himself than directed at him.

"But I'm no leader…" Harry said quietly.

"No, you _think_ you're no leader, but trust me; you've been one for longer than you know, and you're a fine one. You doubt yourself, and believe it or not, that's a fine quality for a leader to have." Jushiro said lightly as he gave Harry the "kindly friend" look. Harry had to admit, Jushiro must have had to beat girls off with a stick. The guy was just… perfect.

Well… if you didn't count his being sick with Tuberculosis… Harry wondered if Madam Pomfrey could cure him…

"A good leader doubts himself sometimes, and so he does everything he can to prove that he's worthy of being a leader. When you have those that are willing to follow you into any danger, then you'll see what I mean." Jushiro said as Harry thought about it. Ron and Hermione had been willing to follow him to protect the Sorcerer's Stone in their first year together. In Second Year, Ron had been willing to follow him into the Chamber, and he was sure Hermione was too.

Maybe he was a leader after all…

"I see you already understand." Shunsui said as he gave Harry a smirk.

"Yeah… I think I do…" Harry said quietly, wondering if his friends would really follow him anywhere into any danger.

"Then you know what to do, right?" Jushiro said as Harry nodded and stood up.

"I think I do. Thanks a lot, Jushiro, Shunsui." Harry said as they both waved him off.

"Don't mention it." Shunsui said as he took another sip of his tea.

Oh how he wished it were liquor…

* * *

><p>Harry went back to the school. He was glad he had been talking with Jushiro and Shunsui. Every time he did he felt more complete and lighter, like a burden… a chaotic force inside of him was slowly being lifted off his shoulders and settling into a peaceful ball. He felt more in touch with his positive emotions; with <em>all<em> of his emotions in general. He felt more… open about himself. He only wished that Hogwarts had counselors like them around.

Or counselors at all…

He didn't go back to see them for a while, feeling that he had taken up enough of their time talking about his life and his problems. The next time he went to them, he wanted to be able to say he handled things on his own.

While DADA was going great, Potions and Divination weren't. Snape was either furious or to happy to have been Neville's greatest fear, but he really was furious over the whole "Neville putting Boggart-Snape in his Gram's dress", so Snape naturally made Neville's life hell in Potions. Harry was going to confront him about his attitude one day this year, he promised himself. Divination was so… ugh. Professor Trelawney had to be the most dramatic person ever to teach, and Lavender and Parvati weren't helping when they spoke to him like he was on his deathbed.

Hagrid's class had become extremely boring compared to the first day, and Harry blamed Draco, who kept apologizing every time they went to the class. If you've ever watched a Flobberworm for an hour and a half, then you'd know why Harry wasn't talking to Draco.

Though there was a silver-lining to his cloud. Quidditch had starting up, and now Harry was feeling better than ever. The sport made up for everything that was wrong with his classes, and he had even stopped Draco's tearful fits when he walked up to the blond and kissed him before bounding off to Quidditch practice.

Yes, he was just that happy. The keyword; _was_.

When he returned to the Common Room, everyone was talking about the next trip to Hogsmeade, which was on Halloween. Harry felt his high spirits ebb away at the talks. Then Ron and Hermione got into a fight because her cat, Crookshanks, went after his rat, Scabbers. Harry had always wondered about the cat and rat. The rat had been living a really long life for rats, apparently being around for eight to ten years with the Weasleys. The cat, Crookshanks… Well, that cat was just a little too smart for Harry's liking.

The next day, Harry decided that he would take Ron's advise, and ask Professor McGonagall if she could allow him on the next trip to Hogsmeade. When they had gotten to her class, they saw that Lavender Brown was wailing about something while Parvati was comforting her. Harry decided to simply stay back, but Hermione had gone up front to see what the commotion was all about. She and Ron, who had followed her, came back both looking angry with the other when Professor McGonagall finally opened the door.

Harry still hadn't decided what he was going to say to Professor McGonagall, however, when the bell rang at the end of the lesson. Thankfully, it was she who brought up the subject of Hogsmeade first.

"One moment, please!" Professor McGonagall said as the class made to leave, "As you are all in my House, you should hand Hogsmeade permission forms to me before Halloween. No form, no visiting the village, so don't forget!"

Neville put up his hand shakily as McGonagall nodded to him.

"Please, Professor, I… I think I've lost mine. It-"

"Your grandmother sent yours to me directly, Mr. Longbottom." Professor McGonagall said, "She seemed to think it was safer that way. Well then, that's all, you may all leave."

Harry waited for the rest of the class to disappear before he headed nervously for Professor McGonagall's desk.

"Yes, Potter?" McGonagall said as Harry took a deep breath. Here went nothing…

"Professor, my aunt and uncle… They… forgot to sign my form." Harry said as Professor McGonagall looked at him with raised brow, but didn't say anything, so he continued, "So… er… do you think it would be all right… I mean, will it be okay if… If I go to Hogsmeade?"

Professor McGonagall looked away from him, down at her desk began shuffling papers on her desk. She didn't seem to want to meet his gaze as she did, opting to speak while she looked over her work.

"I'm afraid not, Potter." McGonagall said, "You heard what was said. No form, no visiting the village. That's… the rule." she finished with a pause to sigh, as though she didn't like what she was saying.

"But Professor, my aunt and uncle… You know, they're Muggles, and… They don't really understand about… about Hogwarts forms and stuff." Harry said, hoping against hope that she would let him go, "However, if _you_ said it was okay for me to go-"

"But I don't say so. I _can_'t say so." Professor McGonagall said clearly, standing up and piling her papers neatly into a drawer on her desk, "The form clearly states that the parent or guardian must give permission. And since I am neither, it would be inappropriate."

"But you've always been like a stern aunt to me. Or a grandmother even, and-"

"Enough, Mr. Potter." McGonagall said as she turned to look at him, with an odd expression on her face. Was it pity? He really hoped not, "I'm sorry… Harry, but that's my final word. You had better hurry, or you'll be late for your next lesson."

There was nothing to be done after that. Well… Ron called Professor McGonagall a lot of names that greatly annoyed Hermione. Hermione assumed an "all-for-the-best" expression that made Ron even angrier, and Harry too was ticked. Hermione hadn't wanted him to go because of Sirius Black being sighted by a nearby town. Harry, however, suffered and stewed while overhearing how everyone in the class talked loudly and happily about what they were going to do first once they got into Hogsmeade while he was the only one not going.

"There's always the feast." Ron said in an effort to cheer Harry up, "You know, the Halloween feast, in the evening."

"Yeah…" Harry said gloomily, "… great…"

The Halloween feast was always good, but it would taste a lot better if he was coming to it after a day in Hogsmeade with everyone else. Nothing anyone said made him feel any better about being left behind. Dean Thomas, who was good with a quill, had offered to forge Uncle Vernon's signature on the form, but as Harry had already told Professor McGonagall he hadn't had it signed, that was no good. Besides, the twins had tried it already, and found that each parchment the permissions were printed on were charmed so that only a parent or guardian could sign them. Ron halfheartedly suggested the Invisibility Cloak, but Hermione stamped on that one, reminding Ron what Dumbledore had told them about the Dementors being able to see through them.

Percy, however, had what were possibly the least helpful words of comfort. Harry was even more depressed after talking to the Head Boy, Percy Weasley.

"They make a fuss about Hogsmeade, but I assure you, Harry, it's not all it's cracked up to be." Percy said seriously, then he shrugged, "All right, the sweetshop's rather good, and Zonko's Joke Shop's frankly dangerous, and yes, the Shrieking Shack's always worth a visit, but really, Harry, apart from that, you're not missing anything."

"Git…" Harry muttered after Percy was out of ear shot after the Headboy had patted his shoulder and walked away.

* * *

><p>On Halloween morning, Harry awoke with the rest and went down to breakfast, feeling thoroughly depressed, though doing his best to act normally. He wanted to go see his "counselors", but reminded himself of his promise. He could get through this! He was a bounce-back kid!<p>

"We'll bring you lots of sweets back from Honeydukes." Hermione said, looking desperately sorry for him after having seen some of his annoyed looks coupled with a few of his more depressed ones. Harry had to admit, even when she was annoying, Hermione still had his and everyone else's best interests at hearts.

But she was still a little annoying because of that…

"Yeah, loads!" Ron said as Harry gave a his orange juice a dispassionate look. He was kind of glad that Ron and Hermione had finally forgotten their squabble about Crookshanks in the face of his sadness, but he didn't want their pity.

Merlin, did he hate the pity!

"Don't worry about me." Harry said with a wave off his hand, hoping his voice sounded as offhand as he wanted it to, "I'll see you at the feast. Have a good time."

He accompanied them to the Entrance Hall, where Filch the Caretaker, was standing inside the front doors, checking off names against a long list, peering suspiciously into every face, and making sure that no one was sneaking out who shouldn't be going.

"Staying here, Potter?" Draco shouted from where he was standing with his normal pose of Slytherins, "Scared of passing the Dementors?"

Harry gave a small chuckle and smiled at Draco. Draco was so amusing when he tried to taunt him, and Harry only just realized that he had been thinking that same thing for the past two years. Draco's biting comments never held much real venom when they were directed at him. Harry sighed as he saw Draco give him a backward glance like Ron and Hermione were before they left. He ignored the looks younger-years were giving him from staying as he made his solitary way up the marble staircase, through the deserted corridors, and back to Gryffindor Tower.

"Password?" the Fat Lady said, jerking out of her sleep.

"Fortuna Major…" Harry said, far too listlessly for his mental-liking.

The portrait swung open and Harry climbed through the hole into the common room. It was full of chattering first-and second-years, and a few older students, who had obviously visited Hogsmeade so often the novelty had worn off.

"Harry! Harry! Hi, Harry!" Harry's head jerked up from his sullen hang at the sound of the mousy voice.

It was Colin Creevey, a Second Year student. The kid annoyed Harry sometimes, what with being deeply in awe of him, and never missing an opportunity to speak to him. Harry didn't want to be rude, but he also didn't want to talk about himself and his adventures to the kid.

"Aren't you going to Hogsmeade, Harry?" Colin said, looking especially wide-eyed with fandom as he gazed directly at Harry.

"Umm… No, I couldn't." Harry said, trying to move without actually stopping to talk.

"Oh? Why not?" Colin asked as Harry started getting annoyed.

"Because I didn't get my permission slip signed." Harry said, the slightest of edge dripping into his voice as he actually looked at Colin, noting that the mousy boy had friends around him.

"Hey, Harry!" Colin said, looking eagerly around at his friends when he noticed Harry gazing over them, "You can come and sit with us, if you like, Harry!"

Harry thought about it for a second. The only way to get away from Colin was to go some place the boy wouldn't be able to talk. The library was always Harry's first place to run to, but that was closed due to Madam Pince having caught a sick-bug that had been going around. The next place to run would be class, but those were options with it being Halloween.

So, with a sag of his shrugs, Harry sighed as he looked back at Colin.

"Sure Colin, why not." Harry said as he trudged over to the first- and second years, who all made room for him and gave him wide space to sit next to Colin. Then, when he was seated, they all crowded around him like adorning fan-girls to some pop-star. Harry was quickly even more annoyed, since he was in no mood to have a lot of people staring avidly at the scar on his forehead, which he started to cover with his fringe.

"So Harry, how ya been? We haven't talked much since last year with the whole…" Colin said, trailing off as he paled a bit, "You know…"

It was then Harry looked down and saw Colin's hand shaking a bit and that the boy looked a bit pale. Harry remembered Colin being petrified last year, but he hadn't thought that second of terror would grip the boy.

"I've been better. You?" Harry said in what he hoped was a casual tone while Colin seemed to brighten.

"I've been swell! I've made all these friends, and they're all great! I've even learned more about the magical world. It's all been so… amazing, ya know?" Colin said as Harry nodded, feeling a bit more at ease.

"Yeah, it does have it's moments." Harry said as Colin nodded to him.

"But what's really eating at you, Harry? It can't just be just the Hogsmeade thing." Colin asked as Harry tensed.

Then, before he even knew it, he was spilling his guts out. Him, in front of this group that had probably formed a fan club devoted to him, talking about how bad his life was. And the worst part about it all was that they were actually listening to him! None of them stopped him when he talked about Voldemort (though they flinched). No one spoke up when he talked about Draco's new "attitude" toward him. All were quiet when he told them about the new "group" that wanted his help and how he refused to give.

They all listened to him with rabid attention, and he felt so disgusting for it. Colin had shook so badly when Harry talked about how he had killed the Basilisk. The older students were the same as the younger ones as they stopped their own things to listen to him. Hell, some of them were from other the Houses! They all gave him their undivided attention, rarely blinking and Harry wasn't even sure if they were truly breathing as he simply rambled on about his problems with the Dementors.

Then he stopped, whether it was by his own wanting to or not, he stopped. He breathed deeply and looked around at his audience, who gazed back with a strange mix of emotions in their eyes. Harry wasn't sure what he saw in their eyes, but he got the feeling that their admiration of him had only increased.

"H-Harry…" Colin said, his voice shaky as he gingerly patted Harry's shoulder.

"I'm sorry, Colin… I… I don't know what came over me." Harry said as he turned to Colin, trying desperately to focus on the mousy boy and not the others that crowded around them, "Here I am talking about my problems when you have your own to deal with. I know how much last year bothered you-"

"It's okay, Harry." Colin said, looking strangely at peace from Harry bringing the topic up, "It wasn't your fault, and you helped way more than you think. You beat it, Harry, and that's what matters. You made sure that… monstrous thing couldn't hurt anyone anymore."

"Yeah, but you're still scared of it." Harry said as he glanced away from Colin to see why people were whispering about him and his caring.

"Yeah, it does. I mean, the scariest thing I had ever seen before the Basilisk was a horror movie about aliens from Mars. That thing, that monster was real, and I guess it'll take a while to get over it. My mum says talking about problems and fears help. I see she was right, because even though I'm still afraid of it, thanks to you, I can at least talk about it. I guess getting comfortable and talking about our problems make them seem a little smaller and less troubling." Colin said with a small smile as he looked around at his friends and then his hands in his lap.

"Yeah, I guess you're right…" Harry said, more to himself than Colin. The little kid was right. He felt just like he did when he talked to Jushiro and Shunsui. He felt lighter, like the weight of his problems were being lifted off his shoulders and his mind.

"My dad always said that talking to friends and family helped get problems and priorities in order. And…" Colin said, trailing off as he bit his lower lip and looked away from Harry, "And… even though you don't have a family, and the one you do have treats you like crap… Well, I'd like to think that I'm your friend… That we're your friends…"

"You are, Colin." Harry said before he could stop himself as he looked around the room at the others, "All of you are… I guess. If any of you ever need me, I'm always here. Especially you Colin."

"Th-Thanks, Harry…" Colin said, his eyes wide and watery.

"No problem. You're kind of like a kid brother I never had." Harry said as he patted Colin's shoulder.

He couldn't just let Colin go through those kinds of problems by himself. Harry knew that he could and would help Colin, Ginny, and Hermione from their problems with last year. Who knows just how much of that beast they had saw last year before they were petrified. Plus there was Myrtle to think about as well. She had died from the Basilisk, and since people taunted her, Harry had to guess that no one had taken the time to actually talk to her about it and give her the comfort that Jushiro and Colin were giving to him.

Harry made a promise to himself right then, to give others the comfort that Jushiro, that Shunsui, that Colin, and Luna gave to him.

"I'm sorry, Colin. But can we talk a little later after this? All of you. I want to talk to each and everyone of you after this. To get to know you, and listen to you like you've listened to me." Harry said as Colin smiled and nodded along with the others.

Harry got up, and left from the common room, heading back out of the portrait hole again as the Fat Lady gave him an annoyed look.

"What was the point of waking me up?" the Fat Lady called grumpily after him as he walked away.

"Sorry!" Harry called back behind him.

Harry wandered around in his own thoughts. He wanted to help everyone he could, but he didn't even know where to start. He wanted so desperately to be as comforting as Jushiro, to give those wise words to others and teach them like Shunsui. He wanted to help the younger years to grow up and see the world as whole and not split between magic and non-magic. He wanted-

"What are you doing walking about?" a nasty voice snarled suspiciously behind him as Harry turned around.

Only to come face-to-face with Filch, who had obviously just seen off the last of the Hogsmeade visitors.

"Nothing." Harry said truthfully., since he still had no clue where he was going and what to do with all the thoughts running through his head.

"Nothing!" Filch spat, his jowls quivering unpleasantly and turning Harry's stomach, "A likely story! Sneaking around on your own. Why aren't you in Hogsmeade buying Stink Pellets and Belch Powder and Whizzing Worms like the rest of your nasty little friends?"

Harry shrugged aloofly under Filch's gaze.

"Well, get back to your common room where you belong!" Filch snapped, and he stood glaring until Harry had passed him. Harry felt that Filch still hadn't gotten over what happened to his cat, or his suspicion that Harry had done it.

"I think I'll good where I want, especially since this castle is a school and that I'm not restricted from wandering the castle during the day. That is, unless you want to talk to Professor Dumbledore about it?" Harry said, not knowing why he was being so brave about it, but enjoying the look on Filch's face as he glanced over his shoulder at the man.

Filch merely grumbled and glared, but did nothing as Harry walked away from him.

* * *

><p>Harry was quite proud to say that he <em>didn't<em> go back to the common room while under Filch's gaze. He instead climbed the nearest staircase while glancing back down to see Filch glaring up at him. He thought to clear his mind by visiting the Owlery to see Hedwig. When he had finally reached the top of the stairs, and was walking along another corridor, a voice from inside one of the rooms called his name.

"Harry?"

Harry doubled back to see who had spoken and met Professor Lupin, looking around his office door.

"What are you doing?" Professor Lupin said, though in a very different tone and voice from Filch, "Where are Ron and Hermione?"

"Hogsmeade." Harry said, in a would-be casual voice with a would-be causal shrug.

"Ah." Lupin said with a nod of his head as he considered Harry for a moment, "Why don't you come in? I've just taken delivery of a Grindylow for our next lesson."

"A what?" Harry asked as he followed the Professor into his office.

In the corner of the spacious office stood a very large tank of water. A sickly green creature with sharp little horns had its face pressed against the glass, pulling faces and flexing its long, spindly fingers.

"Water demon." Lupin said, surveying the Grindylow thoughtfully, "We shouldn't have much difficulty with him, not after the Kappas. The trick is to break his grip. You notice the abnormally long fingers? Strong, but very brittle."

Harry raised a brow as he looked from the Grindylow, who bared its- _his_ green teeth and then buried himself into in a tangle of weeds in a corner, to Professor Lupin, who was looking at it in a sort of gaze that Harry had seen Mayuri Kurotsuchi have when gazing over information on that giant computer of his.

"Cup of tea?" Lupin said, looking around for his kettle as Harry blinked out of his thoughts, "I was just thinking of making one."

"Umm… All right." Harry said awkwardly, not having planned for any of what was happening, but after two years of things like it happening learned to go with the flow.

Lupin tapped the kettle with his wand and a blast of steam issued suddenly from the spout.

"Heating charm or warming charm, which ever way you want to say it… Umm… You can sit down." Lupin said, taking the lid off a dusty tin as he spoke awkwardly, like he was trying to entertain old friends who surprised him with a visit to his shabby home, "I've only got teabags, I'm afraid, but I daresay you've had enough of tea leaves?"

Harry looked at him. Lupin's eyes were twinkling almost like Dumbledore.

It was then Harry realized how much that knowing twinkle annoyed him.

"How did you know about that?" Harry asked with narrowed eyes. Lupin didn't seem to notice the edge in Harry's voice as he passed Harry a chipped mug of tea.

"Professor McGonagall told me." Lupin said lightly, and glanced at Harry to see a frown, "You're not worried, are you?"

"No." Harry answered impassively. He thought for a moment of telling Lupin about the dog he'd seen in Magnolia Crescent, but decided not to. Something about Professor Lupin was off, and with Harry's past experience with the DADA professors, he thought it wise of himself to stay guarded.

Plus, he didn't want Lupin to think he was a coward, especially since Lupin already seemed to think he couldn't cope with a Boggart.

Something of Harry's thoughts must have shown through to his face, because Lupin said, "Anything worrying you, Harry?"

"No." Harry lied in the same impassive tone as before. He drank a bit of tea and watched the Grindylow brandishing a fist at him.

"Yes." Harry said suddenly, putting his tea down on Lupin's desk and blinking in surprise. What was with him today; suddenly spilling his worries to anyone that wanted to know? "You know that day we fought the Boggart?"

"Yes…" Lupin said slowly, gesturing for Harry to drank more of his tea, but Harry didn't.

"Why didn't you let me fight it?" Harry said abruptly, not knowing what was making him talk so openly with this guy, but suspected that dark tea wasn't made quite right.

Lupin's first response was the raising of his eyebrow.

"I would have thought that was obvious, Harry." Professor Lupin said, sounding surprised. Harry, who had expected Lupin to deny that he'd done any such thing, was taken aback a bit.

"You thought it'd be Voldemort, didn't you?" Harry said as he thought back to his conversation with Jushiro and Shunsui.

It was Professor Lupin's turn to be taken back.

"You knew?" Lupin asked lightly.

"I suspected." Harry answered back as Lupin smirked ghostly while leaning back in his chair.

"Well, yes." Lupin said, frowning slightly, "I assumed that if the Boggart faced you, then it would assume the shape of Lord Voldemort."

Harry only stared. Not only was Jushiro and Shunsui right, but the truly surprising part was that Lupin had said Voldemort's name. The only person Harry had ever heard say Tom's chosen name aloud (apart from himself) was Professor Dumbledore.

"Clearly… I was wrong, and I'm sorry, Harry." Lupin said, still frowning at Harry in deep thought, "But, forgive me as I didn't think it a good idea for Lord Voldemort to materialize in the staffroom. I imagined that people would panic."

"I… I understand, but I didn't think of Voldemort." Harry said honestly, choosing to stare at his dark murky tea, "I remembered… those Dementors."

"I see…" Lupin said, trailing off thoughtfully, "Well, I'm impressed, Harry. That suggests that what you fear most of all is fear itself. Very wise and very brave, Harry." Lupin finished as he smiled slightly at the look of surprise on Harry's face.

Harry didn't know what to say to that, so he pretended to drink some more of his tea while Lupin watched him. He had always had trouble with taking compliments, especially when Lisa said them. Harry was told by Shunsui that he looked like he had been caught red-faced and squirming in the middle of doing "naughty" things. Harry never got to find out what those naughty things were as Jushiro berated his friend. Though after his talk with Blaise and the others about hormones and all, Harry had an idea.

"So… you've been thinking that I didn't believe you capable of fighting the Boggart?" Lupin said shrewdly as Harry gave him a look.

"Well… yeah." Harry said, feeling a little happier he wasn't being underestimated by his teacher, "Professor, you know the Dementors-"

Harry was interrupted by a knock at the door of Lupin's office.

"Come in." Lupin called as the door opened, and in came Snape. The bat-like man was carrying a goblet, which was smoking faintly, and stopped at the sight of Harry, his black eyes narrowing.

"Ah, Severus." Lupin said, smiling which Harry found impossible to do when Snape was so close, "Thanks very much. Could you leave it here on the desk for me?"

Snape scowled as he set down the smoking goblet, his eyes wandering between Harry and Lupin.

"I was just showing Harry here my Grindylow." Lupin said pleasantly, pointing at the tank in the corner.

"Fascinating…" Snape said impassively, without looking at the tank, "You should drink that directly, Lupin. Without any food or sweets."

"Yes, yes. I will. Thank you once again, Severus." Lupin said as Harry raised a brow.

"I made an entire cauldron full…" Snape continued as he glanced over at Harry, "If you should need more."

"I should probably have some again tomorrow. Thanks very much, Severus."

"Not at all." Snape said, but there was a look in his eye Harry didn't quite like. He backed out of the room, unsmiling and watchful.

Harry looked curiously at the goblet, and catching his gaze, Lupin smiled.

"Professor Snape has very kindly concocted a potion for me." Lupin said, "I have never been much of a potion-brewer and this one is particularly complex." He picked up the goblet and sniffed at it, "Pity sugar makes it useless…" Lupin added in outward thought, taking a sip of the brew and shuddering.

"Why-?" Harry began, but Lupin looked at him and answered the unfinished question.

"I've been feeling a bit off-color. This potion is the only thing that helps. I am very lucky to be working alongside Professor Snape; there aren't many wizards who are up to making it." Lupin said, but Harry got the feeling he wasn't getting the full truth as Lupin was skillfully not meeting his eyes. Professor Lupin took another sip, and Harry had a crazy urge to knock the goblet out of his hands and scream Snape was a murder trying to poison the man.

"Professor Snape's very interested in the Dark Arts." Harry said, saying it casually instead of blurting it out like he wanted to. Being around Jushiro and the others told him that he couldn't just blurt some things out when they came to mind.

"Really?" Professor Lupin said, looking only mildly interested as he took another gulp of potion.

"Some people reckon… some people reckon he'd do anything to get the Defense Against the Dark Arts job." Harry said as he pretended to drink at his tea.

Lupin didn't seem to hear him, or was simply not minding him as he drained the goblet and pulled a face.

"Disgusting." Professor Lupin said in a light voice with a shudder, "Well, Harry, I'd better get back to work. See you at the feast later."

"Right…" Harry said leaning back in his chair, away from the empty goblet which was still smoking faintly on the desk.

* * *

><p>"There you go." Ron said joyously, "We got as much as we could carry."<p>

A shower of brilliantly colored sweets fell into Harry's lap from where he was sitting. It was dusk now, with Ron and Hermione having just turned up in the common room, pink-faced from the cold wind and looking as though they'd had the time of their lives.

"Thanks." Harry said, picking up a packet of tiny black Pepper Imps and examining it in interest, "What's Hogsmeade like? Where did you go?"

By the sound of their excited chatter, they had been… well, everywhere and it was all great. Dervish and Banges, the wizarding equipment shop, Zonko's Joke Shop, into the Three Broomsticks for foaming mugs of hot butterbeer, and many places besides.

"The post office, Harry! About two hundred owls, all sitting on shelves, all color-coded depending on how fast you want your letter to get there!" Hermione chirped with happiness and wonder that only she could when talking about mail.

"Honeydukes has got a new kind of fudge; they were giving out free samples, there's a bit, look-" Ron said with his own brand of excitement at the prospect of food.

"We think we saw an ogre, honestly, they get all sorts at the Three Broomsticks-"

"Wish we could have brought you some butterbeer, really warms you up-"

"What did you do?" Hermione said, looking anxious and yet somewhat suspicious, "Did you get any work done?"

"Yeah… some." Harry said remembering that he had returned after leaving Lupin's office and did some work.

Lupin's office! Harry wondered if he should tell his friends about Lupin and Snape interaction, but decided against it. He was still too confused about the whole thing. It seemed to him that Professor Lupin trusted Snape enough to actually drink something the greasy guy concocted, so Harry wasn't sure if it was cause for worry or not. He'd wait until something else happened to tell them.

"Harry, are you okay? You seem to be deep in thought over something." Hermione said before she checked her watch, "We'd better go down, you know, the feat will be starting soon."

"I'm fine, and you're right." Harry said as they hurried through the portrait hole and into the crowd while Harry was still thinking about Snape and Professor Lupin.

They soon reached the Entrance Hall and crossed into the Great Hall. Harry was still amazed by the how much spirit Hogwarts put into Halloween. The Great Hall had been decorated with hundreds and hundreds of candle-filled pumpkins, a cloud of fluttering live bats, and many flaming orange streamers, which were swimming lazily across the stormy ceiling like brilliant watersnakes.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione found seats near the middle of their table as he glanced around. Luna was gazing back at him, tapping at her glass. Harry looked down at his own, and saw that it was filled with that great tea Luna made for him before. She blew him a kiss and Harry quickly glanced over to Draco, seeing the blond roll his eyes before slyly doing the same. Harry felt his cheeks heat up when he saw Ginny do the same as Luna and Draco had from on side Ron. He noticed that Colin was blushing as well, but saw the mousy boy whisper something to a girl on side of him that made her cheeks color as well. Both mousy boy and girl sent a wink at him, and Harry's cheeks felt like they were on fire.

Harry had to admit that while every meal at Hogwarts was great, the food was always so much more delicious on Halloween; even Hermione and Ron, who were full of Honeydukes' sweets, managed second helpings of everything.

Harry kept glancing around, having secret moments with those at the other tables before his eyes wandered to the staff table. Professor Lupin looked cheerful and as well as he ever did; he was talking animatedly to tiny little Professor Flitwick, the Charms teacher. Harry moved his eyes along the table, to the place where Snape sat. He didn't know whether he was imagining it or not, but it seemed like Snape's eyes were flickering toward Professor Lupin more often than usually natural when Snape's hate for the DADA Professors was concerned?

The feast finished with an entertainment provided by the Hogwarts ghosts. They popped out of the walls and tables to do a bit of formation gliding; Nearly Headless Nick, the Gryffindor ghost, had a great success with a reenactment of his own botched beheading.

It had been such a pleasant evening. Harry's good mood was lifted even a little higher by Draco, who shouted through the crowd as they all left the hall, "The Dementors and I send our love, Potter!"

Harry felt his face go red at that as he shouted back a thanks. Luna passed him as he trailed behind Hermione and Ron, who were talking about Hogsmeade. The odd blonde gave him a hug and slipped something into his robe pocket, but not before telling him to only read it when he was alone.

Harry felt like the day had been one of his best as he came to the conclusion that he'd talk to Myrtle first thing in the morning before classes. He, Ron, and Hermione followed the rest of the Gryffindors along the usual path to Gryffindor Tower, but when they reached the corridor that ended with the portrait of the Fat Lady, they found it jammed with students.

"Why isn't anyone going in?" Ron said curiously as Harry peered over the heads in front of him, finding that he must have gotten a little taller over the summer. The portrait seemed to be closed.

"Let me through, please." came Percy's voice, as he came bustling importantly through the crowd, "What's the holdup here? You can't all have forgotten the password. Excuse me, I'm Head Boy-"

"I don't like the sound of this." Harry muttered as Hermione and Ron seemed to agree. Harry narrowed his eyes as he found that his time around the Soul Reapers had made him very suspicious of oddities in everyday normal things. Judging by the way the students weren't going through the portrait, Harry guessed something bad had happened, or at least something strange.

He was proved right when a sudden silence fell over the crowd, from the front first, so that a chill seemed to spread down the corridor. They could all hear Percy as he turned to the crowd and said, in a suddenly sharp voice, "Somebody get Professor Dumbledore. Quickly!"

People's heads turned; those at the back were standing on tiptoe.

"What's going on?" Ginny asked, having just arrived behind them.

"Don't know." Harry said with a shrug.

A moment later, Professor Dumbledore was there, sweeping toward the portrait; the Gryffindors squeezed together to let him through, and Harry, Ron, and Hermione moved closer to see what the trouble was as they slinked behind the ancient wizard.

"Oh, my word!" Hermione said, grabbing Harry's arm as Ginny grabbed the other.

The Fat Lady had vanished from her portrait, which had been slashed so viciously that strips of canvas littered the floor; great chunks of it had been torn away completely. Dumbledore took one quick look at the ruined painting and turned, his eyes somber, to see Professors McGonagall, Lupin, and Snape hurrying toward him and them.

"Who could have done that?" Ginny asked, her voice small like it was whenever someone talked about Voldemort or her first year at Hogwarts.

"We need to find her." Dumbledore said with hidden urgency, "Professor McGonagall, please go to Mr. Filch at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat Lady."

"You'll be lucky!" said a cackling voice from above as everyone looked up.

It was Peeves the Poltergeist, bobbing over the crowd and looking delighted, as he always did, at the sight of wreckage or worry.

"What do you mean, Peeves?" Dumbledore said calmly as Peeves' grin faded a little. He didn't dare taunt Dumbledore, so instead he adopted an oily voice that was no better than his cackle.

"Ashamed, Your Headship, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful." Peeves said happily, "Poor thing." he added unconvincingly.

"Did she say who did it?" said Dumbledore asked quietly, look of thoughtfulness on his face that Harry had seen a time or two before.

"Oh yes, Professorhead." Peeves said with the air of one cradling a large bombshell in his arms. Harry raised a brow at the way Peeves seemed to drift about as he left them in suspense for what seemed like hours, "He got very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see." Peeves said, flipped over from his leisurely drifting to grin down at Dumbledore.

"Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."


	7. Grim and Hollow, Part 1

_**Hope you're enjoying the story so far. Also, check out **_**Dragonlover71491**_** and **_**Edgar H. Sutter**_**'s **_**"Match Made in Hell" story. It's on ****Dragonlover71491****'s page, and it's a good read.**

**Chapter 7: Grim and Hollow, Part 1**

* * *

><p>Professor Dumbledore was not too happy. In fact, he wasn't happy one bit.<p>

Why was the normally flamboyant Headmaster of Hogwarts unhappy? Because Sirius Black had not only managed to get pass his charms and protections, but also avoid the Dementors and Soul Reapers to get into the castle.

Oh yes, Albus Dumbledore knew all about the Soul Reapers and their protecting the students from the Dementors, along with their duties of bringing wayward spirits to the afterlife. He had been there when Minister Fudge met with the Head-Captain as every Minister did when they came into office. He met the elder Soul Reaper again during the 236th annual Wizarding World global conference.

Now Dumbledore wasn't prejudice or anything, but knowing that the spiritual epicenter of the planet was focused on and cultured from the Japanese left a bad taste in his British tea. Yes, Dumbledore was a little sore to know that Heaven was in favor of the Japanese. Although, once he knew the reason, his distain for it ebbed away somewhat, but not completely.

Especially with the Japanese wizards from the conference gloating about it, though when they found out the reason for Heaven being focused on them, Dumbledore saved that memory as one of his favorites. He was sure it'd bring a smile to his face when nothing else could.

Sort of like that jock-strap incident with Gellert back when he was a young lad…

Anyways, he knew about the Soul Reapers. He just didn't know who were in Hogwarts and where they were. Hell, he and very few others could see spirits, and if it wasn't for age-old lost magic, then Fudge won't have been able to.

However, at the moment he had something more important to do. He needed to contact the Soul Reapers somehow and find out how Sirius Black had slipped past them. He knew Sirius had to be going around as an Animagus, but that shouldn't have allowed the young man to get in.

No, someone or something else had to be helping young Sirius. But the real question of the day was-

"Who?" Dumbledore muttered as he turned to his Pensieve.

Perhaps the answer lie there?

* * *

><p>Dumbledore had sent all the Gryffindors back to the Great Hall, where they were joined ten minutes later by the students from Hufflepuff, Ravenclaw, and Slytherin, who all looked extremely confused. Well, all but Luna who seemed to feel right as rain in the midst of confusion.<p>

"The teachers and I need to conduct a thorough search of the castle." Professor Dumbledore said firmly as Professors McGonagall and Flitwick closed all doors into the hall, "I am afraid that, for your own safety, you will have to spend the night here. I want the prefects to stand guard over the entrances to the hall, and I am leaving the Head Boy and Girl in charge. Any disturbance should be reported to me immediately." Dumbledore added to Percy, who was looking immensely proud and important at the significant look the elder wizard was giving him, "Send word with one of the ghosts should anything be amiss."

Professor Dumbledore paused, about to leave the hall, before he turned back to them like he had just remembered something of importance, "Oh, yes, you'll be needing…"

With one casual wave of his wand, the long tables flew to the edges of the hall and stood themselves against the walls. With another wave, the floor was covered with hundreds of squashy purple sleeping bags and feather-pillows.

"Sleep well." Professor Dumbledore said, closing the door behind himself as McGonagall and Flitwick had already left.

The hall immediately began to buzz excitedly; the Gryffindors were telling the rest of the school what had just happened.

"Everyone into their sleeping bags!" Percy shouted, "Come on, now, no more talking! Lights out in ten minutes!"

"C'mon…" Harry whispered as he gestured to Ron and Hermione. They seized three sleeping bags and dragged them toward the far-off corner.

"Do you think Black's still in the castle?" Hermione whispered anxiously as her eyes darted around quickly.

"No, I would have left as soon as I realized that I couldn't get into the tower." Ron said as he put a finger to his chin in thought, "Dumbledore obviously thinks he might be, though."

"It's very lucky he picked tonight, ya know." Hermione said as they climbed, still fully-dressed, into their sleeping bags and propped themselves on their elbows to talk, "The one night we weren't in the tower…"

"I reckon he's lost track of time, being on the run." Ron said with a shrug, "Didn't realize it was Halloween. Otherwise he'd have come bursting in here."

Hermione shuddered as Harry raised a brow at the thought of some escaped convict bursting into the Great Hall screaming his name. It was a bit more than off-putting…

All around them, people were asking one another the same question: "How did he get in?"

"Maybe he knows how to Apparate." said a Ravenclaw a few feet away, "Just appear out of thin air, you know."

"Disguised himself, probably." said a Hufflepuff fifth-year.

"He could've flown in." Dean suggested with a shrug as he and the others moved over to where Harry was.

"Honestly, am I the only person who's ever bothered to read _Hogwarts, A History_?" Hermione said crossly to Harry and Ron.

"Probably." Ron said with a shrug, "Why?"

"Because the castle's protected by more than walls, you know." Hermione said as she sat up in her sleeping bag with her arms crossed, "There's are all sorts of enchantments on it; to stop people entering by stealth. You can't just Apparate in here. And I'd like to see the disguise that could fool those Dementors. They're guarding every single entrance to the grounds. They'd have seen him fly in too. And Filch knows all the secret passages, they'll have them covered…"

"Not all of them." the twins whispered lowly with grinning faces. Harry heard them as he raised a brow, but didn't say anything.

"The lights are going out now!" Percy shouted over the muttering voices, "I want everyone in their sleeping bags and no more talking!"

The candles all went out at once. The only light now came from the silvery ghosts, who were drifting about talking seriously to the prefects, and the enchanted ceiling, which, like the sky outside, was scattered with stars. What with that, and the whispering that still filled the hall, Harry felt as though he were sleeping outdoors in a light wind.

Once every hour, a teacher would reappear in the Hall to check that everything was quiet. Around three in the morning, when many students had finally fallen asleep, Professor Dumbledore came in. Harry watched him looking around for Percy, who had been prowling between the sleeping bags, telling people off for talking. Percy was only a short way away from Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who quickly pretended to be asleep as Dumbledore's footsteps drew nearer. Harry peeked an eye open, and when he did he saw that Draco and his gang were nearby where Dumbledore stood, and so were Luna, Colin, and some Hufflepuff boy Harry didn't really know. Both blondes, having seen his eye as though it glowed in the dark, gave him the sign to keep his mouth shut as they all listened-in on Professor Dumbledore's conversation.

"Any sign of him, Professor?" Percy asked in a whisper.

"No. Is all well here?" Dumbledore asked.

"Everything under control, sir." Percy said in a tone that Harry had heard many of the Soul Reapers address Shunsui, Jushiro and even Hachi in. He quickly recognized it as one of a subordinate addressing their commanding officer.

"Good. There's no point moving them all now. I've found a temporary guardian for the Gryffindor portrait hole. You'll be able to move them back in tomorrow." Dumbledore said as Harry could telling just from the drifty tone that the age-old wizard must have been scanning the Great Hall.

"And the Fat Lady, sir?" Percy asked.

"Hiding in a map of Argyllshire on the second floor. Apparently she refused to let Black in without the password, so he attacked. She's still very distressed, but once she's calmed down, I'll have Mr. Filch restore her." Dumbledore said as Harry heard the door of the hall creak open again, and more footsteps.

"Headmaster?" It was Snape, Harry could tell just from the way his impassive voice seemed to ooze slyly. Harry kept quite still, listening hard, "The whole of the third floor has been searched. He's not there. And Filch has done the dungeons; nothing there either."

"What of the Astronomy tower? Professor Trelawney's room? The Owlery?" Dumbledore asked.

"All searched…" Snape said shortly.

"Very well, Severus. I didn't really expect Black to linger." Dumbledore said as Harry heard the way Dumbledore had deliberately said Black like it was to reaffirm something.

"Have you any theory as to how he got in, Professor?" Snape asked as Harry raised his head very slightly off his arms to free his other ear.

"Many, Severus, and each of them as unlikely as the next." Dumbledore said in that tone Harry hated; the tone of one never knowing what was running through the man's head.

Harry moved his head to crank a peek to where the hushed speakers stood; Dumbledore's back was to him, but he could see Percy's face, rapt with attention, and Snape's profile, which looked passively angry; which for Snape meant furious.

"You remember the conversation we had, Headmaster, just before… the start of term?" Snape said, barely opening his lips as though trying to block Percy out of the conversation.

"I do, Severus." Dumbledore said quite firmly and sternly. Harry got the feeling that there was something like warning in his voice.

"It seems… _almost_ impossible… that Black could have entered the school without inside help. I did express my concerns when you appointed Rem-" Snape said, but Harry caught a flare of a dull blue light waft off of Dumbledore's being that he had never seen before. With that light came the feeling that the air had grown heavier and pressure building.

"I do not believe a single person inside this castle would have helped Black enter it." Dumbledore said, and his tone made it so clear the subject was closed that Snape didn't even reply. Harry felt the pressure increase if only a bit before it was suddenly gone. Harry had to cover his mouth as he uttered out a shaky breath from the sudden lost of the pressure while the others looked to be in shock over something.

"I must go down to the Dementors." Dumbledore said tightly, as though the idea was both insane and disgusting, "I said I would inform them when our search was complete."

"Didn't they want to help, sir?" Percy asked as the strange pressure was back, though this time it was even greater and felt far colder.

"Oh yes." Dumbledore said crisply and coldly, "But I'm afraid no Dementor shall cross the threshold of _this_ castle while _I_ am Headmaster."

Percy looked slightly abashed in a petrified sort of state while Snape almost seemed to want to move away, but couldn't. Dumbledore left the hall, walking quickly and quietly. Snape stood for a moment, in the same state as Percy, watching the Headmaster with an expression of deep resentment and yet fear on his face before he too then left, looking as though he had only just regained control of his ability to move about and breathe.

Harry glanced sideways at Ron and Hermione, who both had their eyes open and looking to be about to collapse if they weren't already in sleeping bags. He glanced over to Draco and the Slytherins, who looked to be in the same state, but handling it a bit better. Harry moved his vision over to Luna and Colin, who looked about the same as Draco and the others, but that was when Harry noticed most of the other students, like Seamus, Dean, and others (asleep or not) were all breathing a bit more noisily. It was like Dumbledore's anger gave those around him breathing problems.

The question was: what was that strange light and that pressure.

* * *

><p>The school talked of nothing but Sirius Black for the next few days. The theories about how he had entered the castle became wilder and wilder; Hannah Abbott from Hufflepuff, spent much of their next Herbology class telling anyone who'd listen that Black could turn into a flowering shrub.<p>

The Fat Lady's ripped canvas had been taken off the wall and replaced with the portrait of Sir Cadogan and his fat gray pony. Nobody was very happy about this. Sir Cadogan spent half his time challenging people to duels, and the rest thinking up ridiculously complicated passwords, which he changed at least twice a day.

"He's a complete lunatic!" Seamus angrily raved to Percy, "Can't we get anyone else?"

"None of the other pictures wanted the job." Percy said with a sigh as he rubbed at his temples, "All of them! Frightened of what happened to the Fat Lady. Sir Cadogan was the only one stupi- … I mean, _brave_ _enough_ to volunteer."

Sir Cadogan, however, was the least of Harry's worries. He was now being closely watched; by everyone. Teachers found excuses to walk along corridors with him, and Percy Weasley (acting on Mrs. Weasley's orders, Harry suspected) was tailing him everywhere like an extremely pompous guard dog. To cap it all, Professor McGonagall summoned Harry into her office, with such a somber expression on her face Harry thought someone must have died.

"There's no point hiding it from you any longer, Potter." McGonagall said in a very serious voice, "I know this will come as a shock to you, but Sirius Black-"

"I know he's after me." Harry said wearily, "I heard Ron's dad telling his mum. Mr. Weasley works for the Ministry of Magic."

Professor McGonagall seemed very taken aback. Did no one want him to know this, or were they afraid he'd do something rash? She stared at Harry for a moment or two, as though considering him in a new light.

"I see then… Well, in that case, Mr. Potter, you'll understand why I don't think it's a good idea for you to be practicing Quidditch in the evenings. Out on the field with only your team members, it's very exposed, Potter-"

"We've got our first match on Saturday!" Harry said in outrage. Quidditch was one of the only things that kept him sane! And with it being an extremely dangerous sport by any standard, that was saying something, "I've got to train, Professor!"

Professor McGonagall considered him intently. Harry knew she was deeply interested in the Gryffindor team's prospects; it had been she, after all, who'd suggested him as Seeker in the first place. He waited, holding his breath. If they took that one ray of light, then he'd be packing up and going back to the Muggle World, or freakin' Soul Society! He really didn't care at this point!

"Hmm…" Professor McGonagall hummed in thought as she stood up and stared out of the window at the Quidditch field, just visible through the rain, "Well… goodness knows, I'd like to see us win the Cup at last… but all the same, Potter… I'd be happier if a teacher were present. I'll ask Madam Hooch to oversee your training sessions."

The weather worsened steadily as the first Quidditch match drew nearer. Undaunted, the Gryffindor team was training harder than ever under the eye of Madam Hooch. Then, at their final training session before Saturday's match, Oliver Wood gave his team some unwelcome news.

"We're not playing Slytherin!" he told them, looking very angry, "Flint's just been to see me. We're playing Hufflepuff instead."

"Why?" chorused the rest of the team. Harry had to admit, he was looking forward to wiping Draco's grin off of his face, and having the blond give him his victory kiss. And hey, even if he lost to Draco, he could simply give Draco and victory kiss.

Harry didn't much care, so long as he got to the kissing part. He liked kissing…

"Flint's excuse came straight from Professor Snape; that their Seeker's arm is still injured." Wood said tightly, grinding his teeth in fury, "But it's obvious why they're doing it. Don't want to play in this weather. Think it'll damage their chances. Sissies…"

There had been strong winds and heavy rain all day, and as Wood spoke, they heard a distant rumble of thunder.

"There's nothing wrong with Malfoy's arm!" Fred said in mock-fury as George grinned beside him.

"Yeah! The pretty little bird is just faking it!" George said as he and Fred exchanged twin looks of amusement.

"I know that, but we can't prove it." Wood said bitterly, not seeing the joke, "And we've been practicing all those moves assuming we're playing Slytherin, and instead it's Hufflepuff, and their style's quite different. They've got a new Captain and Seeker, Cedric Diggory-"

Angelina, Alicia, and Katie suddenly giggled.

"What?" Wood said, frowning at this lighthearted behavior.

"He's that tall, good-looking one, isn't he?" Angelina asked Katie as the girl fanned herself.

"Strong and silent too." Katie said as she swooned in place while Angelina caught her, and they started to giggle again.

"He's only silent because he's too thick to string two words together." Fred said, suddenly impatient with joking behavoir as he and his twin brother frowned at their two female teammates, "I don't know why you're worried, Oliver, Hufflepuff is a pushover. Last time we played them, Harry caught the Snitch in about five minutes, remember?"

"We were playing in completely different conditions!" Wood shouted, his eyes bulging slightly, "Diggory's put a very strong side together! He's an excellent Seeker! I was afraid you'd take it like this! We mustn't relax! We must keep our focus! Slytherin is trying to wrong-foot us! We must win!"

"Oliver, calm down!" George said, looking slightly alarmed, "We're taking Hufflepuff very seriously. Seriously."

Harry's mind, however, wasn't on the match as much as he wanted to be. He was thinking about Draco, and he had still yet to go to Jushiro and Shunsui with that pressure and light that seemed to come from Professor Dumbledore's anger.

He decided he'd do both the day before the match.

* * *

><p>The day before the match, the winds reached howling point and the rain fell harder than ever. It was so dark inside the corridors and classrooms that extra torches and lanterns had to be lit just so students could stop bumping into one another… and so the Fourth Year boys would stop ending up in hospital beds after trying to "coup a feel" in the halls… whatever that meant.<p>

The Slytherin team was looking very smug indeed, and none more so than Draco, who seemed to swoon every time Harry passed him in the halls with no time to talk.

"Ah, if only my arm was feeling a bit better…" Draco sighed out dramatically as the gale outside pounded against the windows.

Harry finally had enough of it. He had decided to put off his talk with Draco until after he had spoken with Shunsui and Jushiro, but he suddenly grabbed Draco's arm and nearly dragged the slightly shorter boy down the dungeon halls. He pinned Draco against the first wall in the dungeons he found, and saw Draco's confused face turn seductive and slightly sneaky, like he was hiding some dirty little secret.

"Oh, Harry!" Draco said excitedly as his eyes lit up with some form of mischief, "I didn't know you were into the whole secrets-in-the-dark and up-against-the-wall kind of stuff, but I'm glad you are." Draco said, smirking sexily as he ran a gentle finger over Harry's school tie, "Now what will you do? You have up against this wall. Is it gonna be rough and quick?"

"What?" Harry said, truly confused as to whatever Draco was talking about. He blinked, and Draco must have noticed his confusion because the blond suddenly frowned and crossed his arms across his small frame.

"No quick snogging? I thought you dragged me down here so we could ravage each other's mouth with our tongues." Draco said as Harry blinked again.

"Umm… No… But we can still do that…" Harry said as Draco smiled.

"Excellent, now what is it?" Draco said as he leaned upward and kissed Harry's lips.

"Why aren't you playing? I would have thought you'd try to get me to fly off somewhere for us to "ravage each other", as you put it?" Harry said as Draco scowled.

"Trust me, that was the plan, but Severus isn't letting me in the game. He says it's much too dangerous for me to be playing in this kind of weather." Draco said as it was Harry's turn to frown.

"I thought you were just trying to be a prat again by not playing. Oliver thinks you're trying to wrong-foot us." Harry said as Draco scoffed.

"Oh please. Father floo-called Severus demanding that I stay out of this weather." Draco said as he laid his hands on Harry's chest, feeling Harry's muscles through the material, "These aren't Quidditch muscles. Mhmm… No indeed…"

"I do a lot of... manual labor where I live." Harry answered shortly, the thought of his life at the Dursley's darkening his mood. Draco's hands roving his chest and arms was helping him get cheery though.

"Well then, keep do it. Whatever doesn't kill you makes you much... sexier." Draco said as Harry chuckled, bending down to lay a kiss on the blond.

"You know, I'm so glad I'm the taller one for a chance. Always being around Ron and his being taller makes me short." Harry said as Draco kissed him.

"Yeah, Blaise and Theo make me feel the same way. Being as tall as Pansy in both forms is a little disappointing." Draco said as Harry kissed his cheek.

"So, why do you still act like a prick?" Harry asked in amusement as Draco pouted and slapped his arm. Harry enclosed the blond in a hug as Draco rested in his arms without a fight.

"Everyone would question why I'm suddenly nice to you if I did it. Being snaky and civil is far less questionable. Besides, it makes it seem like I'm maturing, and it's fun." Draco said as Harry chuckled and lay a kiss on Draco's neck, feeling the blond shudder in his arms.

"So this is all about your own gain, huh?" Harry said as Draco grinned.

"That, and plus these little moments are spent so much better when others aren't around. Don't you think?" Draco said as he moved his head back and kissed Harry's cheek, electing a blush from him. Here he was, with a lover in his arms that liked- no loved him for him, he never thought he'd see the day.

"Oh yes, I would have to agree. It's must be wonderful when others don't interrupt your special time together." Harry and Draco heard over their shoulders as Harry released Draco, both turning with their wands already in hand.

It was Luna… why was Harry not surprised?

"Oh, it's you." Draco nearly spat out as Harry gave him a look.

"Yes, it's me. Hello Draco, how are you?" Luna said as Draco rolled his eyes. Harry supposed Draco was upset that they weren't entangled in each other anymore and now had to talk to someone else when they could be snogging.

"Fine. I'd be better if you left us alone." Draco bit out as Harry turned to him.

"Draco! That's not very nice. She's done nothing to you." Harry said as Draco narrowed his eyes.

"She's interrupted one of the only times you and I have alone right now. That's something." Draco snapped back as Harry sighed and shook his head. He kissed Draco, who seemed to look a little less grumpy at the act before they both turned back to Luna. Luna was just smiling, as though everything was going according to her plans.

"Did you read the note I gave you on Halloween?" Luna asked as Harry blinked.

Truth be told, Harry had no room in his head to remember Luna's little not with Oliver Wood hurrying up to him between classes and giving him tips for the match tomorrow.

"I'm sorry, but no I didn't. Was it really important?" Harry said, slightly ashamed that he had forgotten about Luna's note when she made tea for him every meal. The tea was one of the things he had to look forward to, and the first thing he always grabbed for when he reached whatever spot he sat at when he got to the table. He had no clue how Luna did it, but that tea would be there, no matter where he chose to sit during his meals.

"It's okay. It's not really important now, and you'd probably only be confused and worried by it had you read it. You'll read it when the time is right, and then you'll know what to do." Luna said as Harry raised a brow.

"What's she talking about, Potter? What note?" Draco asked as Harry sighed.

"It was nothing, and I haven't even read it. Don't go getting jealous, Dra-"

"I am not jealous. You're with me, and she's-"

"My _friend_. If you have a problem with her, then you have a problem with me. And if that should have, then we can yell it out and you can be without me for a while." Harry said seriously as Draco's breath seemed to hitch. Harry didn't want his first relationship to be like that, but he also wasn't going to let Draco control him or fight with one of his friends that hadn't done him anything.

Ron, yes, Seamus and Dean, maybe, but Luna and Hermione, no.

"Fine. I'll play nice, but not with Weasley." Draco said, and Harry rolled his eyes.

"I didn't say to with Ron. I have a feeling that you two will never get along." Harry said as he laid a kiss on Draco's forehead.

"Quite true. Now then, you might want this." Luna said as she reached into her robe pocket and pulled out a homemade charm bracelet. It had beads on it with tiny symbols inscribed on them. Draco snatched it away before Harry could even get a proper hold on it. Draco inspected it, and Harry noticed that Draco's eyes seemed sharp and critical like a jeweler's as he looked the beaded-bracelet up and down.

"Runes…" Harry heard Draco mutter as the blond gave his fellow blonde a swift glance. Luna nodded with a dreamy smile as Draco scoffed gently, tossing the bracelet back to Harry.

"Wear it. She knows her stuff. Did you inscribe them?" Draco said as Luna shook her head.

"Oh no. My mother did before she passed away. It was hers, and it was given to me when she died. It'll keep Harry safe tomorrow and other times." Luna said as Draco gave her a look. Draco opened his mouth to say something, but paused and seemed to think better of it as he turned to Harry.

"Keep safe." Draco said as he rushed Harry with a hug. Harry blinked, but shrugged as he kissed Draco's forehead.

"I will." Harry said, looking at the bracelet in curiosity. He wondered what could possibly keep him safe about a charm bracelet, but suspended his normal thoughts of disbelief in the facts that he went to a magical school and was a wizard who just happened to know about Heaven's army being on a secret mission inside a room on the Seventh Floor.

Was his life really as unbelievable as he just made it sound…?

* * *

><p>Oliver Wood had stopped him again later that day. This time it happened though, Wood talked for so long that Harry suddenly realized he was ten minutes late for Defense Against the Dark Arts, and set off to the class running while Wood was shouting after him, "Diggory's got a very fast swerve, Harry, so you might want to try looping him!"<p>

Harry skidded to a halt outside the Defense Against the Dark Arts classroom, pulled the door open, and dashed inside.

"Sorry I'm late, Professor Lupin. I was-"

But it wasn't Professor Lupin who looked up at him from the teacher's desk; it was Snape, who gave him an impassive look.

"This lesson began ten minutes ago, Potter, so let's see… Ten minutes, I think we'll make it ten points from Gryffindor; one for every minute. Now sit down." Snape said as Harry was still too stunned to move. Snape teaching DADA? Snape being… reasonable when taking points? Harry needed a minute to process the impossibilities that had just occurred.

"Where's Professor Lupin?" Harry asked.

"He says he is feeling too ill to teach today." Snape said with a twisted smile, as though he knew some juicy secret, "I believe I told you to sit down, did I not?"

But Harry stayed where he was.

"What's wrong with him?"

Snape's black eyes glittered, almost as if he wanted to blurt out the reason, but was restraining himself. The man's features didn't show it, but Harry had gotten pretty good at reading Snape just from the man's eyes.

As creepy as that was to say, and hear…

"Nothing life-threatening…" Snape said, looking as though he wished it were. Harry was a bit put-off by the fact that he and Snape were having an actual conversation like colleagues or just plain civil people. Snape must have noticed it too, because he shook his head lightly and blanched, "That's five more points from Gryffindor, and if I have to ask you to sit down again, it will be fifty."

Harry walked slowly to his seat and sat down while Snape looked around at the class, almost as if he had forgotten them and daring any of them to breath one word about what had just happened between him and Harry.

"As I was saying before Potter interrupted, Professor Lupin has not left any record of the topics you have covered so far-"

"Please, sir, we've done Boggarts, Red Caps, Kappas, and Grindylows." Hermione said quickly, "Now we're just about to start-"

"Be quiet." Snape said coldly, "I did not ask for information. I was merely commenting on Professor Lupin's lack of organization."

"He's the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher we've ever had." Dean said boldly, and there was a murmur of agreement from the rest of the class. Snape looked more menacing than ever.

"You are easily satisfied then, Thomas. Lupin is hardly overtaxing you. I would expect First Years to be able to deal with Red Caps and Grindylows. Today we shall discuss…"

Harry watched as Snape trailed off while flipping through the textbook, reaching to the very back chapter, which he must know they hadn't covered.

"… Werewolves." Snape said as Harry got the feeling that Snape had picked werewolves on purpose, either for them to fail so he could dock more points…

…or for some reason that had to deal with Professor Lupin.

"But, sir!" Hermione said, unable to restrain herself as Harry knew, "We're not supposed to do werewolves yet, we're due to start Hinkypunks-"

"Miss Granger…" Snape said in a deadly calm voice, "I was under the impression that I am teaching this lesson, not you. And I am telling you all to turn to page 394." Snape continued in that overly calm tone as he glanced around, "All of you! _Now_!"

With many bitter sidelong looks and some sullen muttering, the class opened their books and began turning through pages.

"Which of you can tell me how we distinguish between the werewolf and the true wolf?" Snape said, his voice giving way to a small glimmer of hope as his eyes glanced about the class.

Everyone sat in motionless silence; everyone except Hermione, whose hand, as it so often did, had shot straight into the air.

"Anyone?" Snape said, ignoring Hermione as his twisted smile was back, "Are you telling me that Professor Lupin hasn't even taught you the basic distinction between-"

"We told you." Parvati said suddenly, "We haven't got as far as werewolves yet, we're still on-"

"Silence!" Snape snarled as he turned dark tunnel eyes to Harry, "You, Potter, tell me the difference. Now!"

Harry raised a brow at Snape's overeager nature. He wasn't sure if Snape wanted him to get the question wrong or not, but he decided to at least give it a try. He had read a few fantasy books, watched a few horror movies, and actually listened to Hermione ramble on about things.

"Umm… Well, a werewolf is… a man turned into a a wolf-like creature while a true wolf is an animal that doesn't change." Harry tried and at seeing Snape's smile fall, his eyebrow raise, and the rest of the class silently staring at him, Harry wasn't sure what he had done.

"… Very good… Mr. Potter. I confess that I never thought someone of your ego-swollen head to retain such facts, but you are… right." Snape said, looking as though he were having stomach pains at doing so.

"The rest of you, however. I never thought I'd meet a third-year class who wouldn't even recognize a werewolf when they saw one. I shall make a point of informing Professor Dumbledore how very behind you all are…"

"Please, sir." Hermione said as her hand was still in the air, "The werewolf differs from the true wolf in several small ways, one of such Harry said. For example; the werewolf can stand on it's hind legs and-"

"That is the second time you have spoken out of turn, Ms. Granger, and I had already gave Potter the question, which he answered. No doubt with your help." Snape said coolly with a ghost of a smirk as if he was sure Hermione had helped Harry somehow, "Five more points from Gryffindor for being an insufferable know-it-all."

Hermione went very red before put down her hand, and staring at the floor with her eyes full of unshed tears. It was a mark of how much the class loathed Snape that they were all glaring at him, because every one of them had called Hermione a know-it-all at least once.

And Ron, who told Hermione she was a know-it-all at least twice a week, said loudly, "You asked us a question and she knows the answer; an even better one than Harry! Why ask if you don't want to be told?"

The class knew instantly he'd gone too far. Snape advanced on Ron slowly, and the room held its breath.

"Detention, Weasley." Snape said silkily with a predator-like growl, his face very close to Ron's own, "And if I ever hear you criticize the way I teach a class again, you will be very sorry indeed."

No one made a sound throughout the rest of the lesson. They sat and made notes on werewolves from the textbook, while Snape prowled up and down the rows of desks, examining the work they had been doing with Professor Lupin.

"Very poorly explained… That is incorrect, the Kappa is more commonly found in Mongolia… Professor Lupin gave this eight out of ten? I wouldn't have given it three…"

When the bell rang at last, Snape held them back.

"You will each write an essay, to be handed in to me, on the ways you recognize and kill werewolves. I want two rolls of parchment on the subject, and I want them by Monday morning. It is time somebody took this class in hand. Weasley, stay behind, we need to arrange your detention." Snape said as he stalked back to the teacher's desk.

* * *

><p>Harry and Hermione left the room with the rest of the class, who waited until they were well out of earshot, then burst into a furious tirade about Snape.<p>

"Professor Snape has never been like this with any of our other Defense Against the Dark Arts teachers, even if he did want the job." Hermione raged to Harry as all he could do was sigh tiredly, "Why is he so adamant against Professor Lupin? Do you think this is all because of the Boggart incident?"

"I don't know." Harry said as he glanced out a passing window to see that the day was as dark as night, "But I do really hope Lupin gets better soon…"

Ron caught up with them five minutes later, in a towering rage.

"Urgh! D'you know what that-"

"Ron!" Hermione admonished at Ron's language while Harry cracked a smirk.

"-is making me do?" Ron continued undeterred, "I've got to scrub out the bedpans in the hospital wing. Without magic! Why couldn't Black have hidden in Snape's office, huh? He could have finished him off for us, and put the greasy-haired git out of our misery!" Ron finished, breathing deeply and nostrils flaring with his fists clenched.

Harry, however, wasn't paying much attention to the tirade as Hermione tried to calm Ron down. He still needed to speak to his Soul Reaper friends about what was going on.

Luckily, he did have some good news to share with them…

* * *

><p>"Hmm, a faint light and pressure you say? Hmm…" Jushiro said in thought while Harry sat across from him.<p>

"Yeah. It was like the air got heavy, or like being underwater. Then when Professor Dumbledore started talking about the Dementors, the pressure and feeling got colder." Harry explained as Jushiro hummed in thought before picking up his teacup and drinking from it.

"Well, it seems to me that what you experienced was Spiritual Pressure." Jushiro said as he sat down his teacup.

"Spiritual Pressure?" Harry questioned as Jushiro nodded.

"Yes. You see, Spiritual Pressure or "Reiatsu" is the physical fore or "pressure" of a being's Spiritual Power/Energy or "Reiryuko". You all here call this power magic and wield it to cast spells." Jushiro said as Harry nodded.

"So magic is this Spirit Energy stuff, and the pressure is called Spiritual Pressure." Harry said as Jushiro smiled at him.

"That's right! You see, every spiritual being and every human has a certain amount of Spiritual Energy. If this amount is higher than a certain degree, it grants the person superhuman abilities. Those with such an above-average level of Spiritual Energy are very rare among living humans, though. Like you, Harry." Jushiro said as Harry smiled shyly, "From the research we've done over the years, it seems that the most basic ability humans with a higher level of Spirit Energy have is the ability to see ghosts, spirits, Souls, and Hollows alike. See, we Soul Reapers are essentially departed souls in Soul Society with very high levels of Spiritual Energy who receive special training to utilize our powers."

"Sort of like witches and wizards get taught magic here at Hogwarts." Harry said, seeing where Jushiro was going as the white-haired man nodded.

"Yes, that's right, though we do a lot of combat training. Now when a being is able to effectively use their Spiritual Energy and harness it, they can channel it to cast spells, which is exactly what we of the Soul Reapers and you of the Wizarding World do. Spiritual Energy can also be coalesced into a physical form to be thrown or shot like projectiles. This is also what you all do when you fling your spells around or when we Soul Reapers use high level Kido." Jushiro explained further as Harry nodded in understanding.

"That's not all." a voice said from the door as both males turned to see Soi Fon standing in the doorway, "As a display of potency, spiritual beings have the ability to incapacitate the opponent's movement and simultaneously frighten them, by means of dispersing Reiryoku into the air. This ability is called Spiritual Pressure, which is power that is literally felt in the atmosphere."

"Thank you, Soi Fon. I was just about to get to that." Jushiro said as he smiled up from his seat at the petite young Asian girl, "Please, come in and shut the door."

Soi Fon did as she was told, closing the door behind her as she walked in. Harry moved over as she took a spot on the cushioned pillows they were using for seats.

"Please, go on with your explanation, Soi Fon. I'm sure Harry could learn a lot from you, and you from him as well." Jushiro said with a smile as Soi Fon gave him a bland look before turning to Harry.

"Listen up, because I'm only gonna say this once." Soi Fon said as Harry nodded, focusing on her and her words, "The difference between spiritual pressure and spiritual energy is simple: _Reiryoku_ is the amount of energy a being has stored within their body or soul, whereas _Reiatsu_ is the pressure that a person's Reiryoku exerts. The difference is much like energy and power. Power being the amount of energy exerted per unit of time. Reiryoku is potential while Reiatsu is energy in use. In general, those with high levels of Reiryoku will often have the highest levels of Reiatsu also. A skilled warrior can overcome a person possessing greater Spirit Energy by possessing greater Spiritual Pressure. Got it so far?"

"Yeah. The spiritual pressure is the way spiritual energy is used. Spiritual Energy is the energy in a person. So, is that what magical core is then, just spiritual energy?" Harry asked as Jushiro seemed in thought.

"Well, a person's Spiritual Energy does gather at the core of the spirit, so you're right. In fact, since we're on this discussion; why don't we see just how much energy you have after we finish this explanation?" Jushiro suggested as Harry nodded.

"Now then, listen up." Soi Fon said as Harry snapped his attention back to her. He had to admit that no matter how uptight she was, she was still beautiful to behold. Her soft short-cut black hair. Her delicate features. Her petite figure as she gave him a stern look with her grey eyes, "Are you even listening?"

"Yes." Harry said, blinking at her sudden outburst.

"Good. Now then, there are some ways to apply spiritual pressure other than just letting it run rampant. With sufficient enough power, Shinigami can use their own reiatsu to harden their skin, and effectively protect themselves from attacks. There's also the mental powers of using spiritual pressure, like to install fear into one's opponent, stun them with just your presence, or completely paralyze them with only your direct gaze. You can also use your spiritual pressure to cause damage to others be exerting a large amount of it at once in a repulse wave. In fact, people with a specific type of spiritual energy can exert their spiritual pressure in a different way than standard." Soi Fon explained as Harry nodded, taking a sip of his tea while he thought it all over.

The Soul Reapers sounded powerful, but Harry still got the feeling that only high-level Soul Reapers could do such things. He glanced over at Jushiro, who gave him a friendly smile. Was Jushiro _really_ that powerful? He didn't seem it. Harry would have thought Jushiro another ordinary man if he didn't have the white hair or the sword at his side.

Could someone so plain... so kind... so friendly be strong enough to suffocate others by merely being in the same room as them?

"Umm… so Dumbledore's anger unknowingly gave way to his spiritual pressure… or something like that?" Harry asked as Jushiro nodded.

"Yes. For some people it's easier to call on their collective power, especially if they have a great amount of spiritual power. This gives way to easily being able to exert spiritual pressure: whether they know it or not. My thoughts are that this Dumbledore had a momentary lapse of control in his power, so you all felt it." Jushiro said as Soi Fon nodded in agreement. Suddenly, Jushiro smiled and rose from his seat as he looked down at Harry who was still seating, "Now then, about that test?"

"Huh…? Oh, right." Harry said, as he hurried to his feet and followed Jushiro out the room. They walked down stairs to where the other Soul Reapers were working and training as Harry glanced about.

"Hey, Jushiro. Where is Shunsui… and Lisa for that matter? I haven't seen them, and normally by now Lisa would have pinched or something." Harry asked as Jushiro looked at him.

"Oh, Shunsui and Lieutenant Yadomaru were recalled for their duties to the Eighth Division by Head-Captain Yamamoto. I'm really the only one who's going to be here for the full duration of the mission. Everyone else… except maybe Mayuri, will be subject to change should they be needed elsewhere." Jushiro explained as Harry's mood dampened a bit.

"Oh… Wish I could have said good-bye…" Harry said sullenly as Jushiro smiled back at him.

"Don't worry, he'll be back as soon as he's done with his other work. Truth be told, he's highly interested in being here, even more so after meeting with and getting to know you, Harry. Even Lisa wants to come back, so I guess for now we'll have Hachigen and young Soi Fon as Shunsui and Lisa's replacements." Jushiro said as Harry smiled.

"My, my… back soon, Harry?" the oily voice of Mayuri Kurotsuchi said as both Harry and Jushiro turned to see the strange scientist walking toward them with a stack of papers in his hands, "Well then, I'm glad. I've just got back the sample results, and I must say the top page itself is looking rather interesting."

"Oh, Mayuri, we're so glad you found us. We wanted Harry here to get his Reishi tested." Jushiro said as Harry gave his friend an odd look.

"Reishi? What's that?" Harry asked as Mayuri seemed amused.

"My, my, you certainly aren't a bright one, now are you?" Mayuri mocked as Harry gave him a look, "Reishi is like the atoms or cells of this world, except their spiritual. These spiritrons make up the Spiritual World and all of Soul Society. These particles come together to form the entirety of one's spiritual energy. You do know about spiritual energy at least, right?"

"Yes, I do." Harry replied shortly, not liking Mayuri's condescending look toward him. It was too much like Dudley's when the fat boy saw him punished for doing accidental magic.

"Good, at least you're not just some brute with no brain. Well then, what I'd do is take a sample of your spiritual energy and then I'd see how tightly packed your spiritrons in that sample. This would give us an idea on how strong your spiritual core is and allow us to estimate how powerful you are in relation. Understand?" Mayuri said as Harry nodded unsurely.

"Yeah… I think…" Harry said as he followed Mayuri, who looked positively ecstatic.

"Well then, how fast can the test be done and the results be printed?" Jushiro asked as Mayuri cast him a look.

"I can't do the test here. Haven't got the equipment." Mayuri said casually with a shrug as Jushiro looked stunned and shocked.

"B-But you just said-"

"What I _would do._ That is, if I had the equipment. Sadly though, there's only one tester, and it's back at the Department of Research and Development. Oh well, better luck next time…" Mayuri said, walking off from them as Jushiro shook his head.

"That man Kurotsuchi… He's so sneaky at trying to get his way." Jushiro said, still shaking his head as Harry got the feeling that Mayuri Kurotsuchi would have made the perfect Slytherin.

"Well then, if I'm not taking that test, then I'd better go. Like I said before I brought up the whole Dumbledore thing; I have a Quidditch match against Hufflepuff tomorrow." Harry said as Jushiro nodded.

"Right then. See you some other time then, Harry." Jushiro said as he clasped Harry shoulder before the boy walked off and out of the room.

"Soi Fon, watch over him and alert me should anything seem amiss." Jushiro said as Soi Fon stepped out of his shadow.

"Sir…" Soi Fon said, her face blank as he nodded.

"With Sirius Black having slipped into the castle, and avoided even our Stealth Force members it would seem that Harry and this entire school will need protection on them tightened even more. I need you, Soi Fon." Jushiro said as Soi Fon only glanced up at him with a raised brow. Captain Ukitake rarely ever asked anything of anyone, so she said nothing as she slipped away into the shadows.

* * *

><p>Harry woke extremely early the next morning; so early that it was still dark in fact. For a moment he thought the roaring of the wind had woken him. Then he felt a cold breeze on the back of his neck and sat bolt upright —Peeves the Poltergeist had been floating next to him, blowing hard in his ear.<p>

"What did you do that for?" Harry said furiously as Peeves puffed out his cheeks, blowing hard and zoomed backward out of the room, cackling like a madman.

Harry fumbled for his alarm clock, looking at it in annoyance. It was half past four, and he was cursing Peeves as he rolled over and tried to get back to sleep, but it was near impossible. Now that he was awake, he found it hard to ignore the sounds of the thunder rumbling overhead, the pounding of the wind against the castle walls, and the distant creaking of the trees in the Forbidden Forest. In a few hours, he would be out on the Quidditch pitch, battling through that gale and rain, trying to find a small ball of gold the size of a walnut.

Finally, Harry gave up any thought of more sleep. He got up, got dressed, picked up his Nimbus Two Thousand, and walked quietly out of the dormitory.

Just as he was opening the door, something brushed against his leg. Harry bent down just in time to grab Crookshanks by the end of his bushy tail and drag him outside of the boys' room.

"You know, I reckon Ron was right about you." Harry told Crookshanks suspiciously, "There are plenty of mice around this place; go chase them. Go on." Harry added, nudging Crookshanks down the spiral staircase with his foot, "Leave Scabbers alone."

"But why should I?" a deep male voice said as Harry blinked in surprise at the cat.

"What did you just say?" Harry said before giving way to his surprise, "Wait! You can _talk_!"

"Well of course I can. Why wouldn't I be?" Crookshanks said, licking at his paw.

"You never have _before_, and I think Hermione would have _told_ us if you could." Harry said deadpan as Crookshanks gave him a look.

"Why would I talk to her?" Crookshanks said as Harry raised a brow.

"Because she's your owner." Harry said as Crookshanks scoffed before smiling like the Chesire Cat from _Alice in Wonderland_.

"Yes, but she's also a know-it-all with a rather big logical trip and not one to believe in things easily. Like her stubbornness toward not… Never mind, you'll figure it out soon enough." Crookshanks said as Harry rolled his eyes.

"Is there a reason you're talking to me?" Harry asked as he crossed his arms.

"Yes, actually. You see, of all the people around here, you're the only one with any sense." Crookshanks said as he rolled onto the floor and smiled up at Harry.

"Okay then... Are you gonna start speaking in riddles before making your body parts disappear while only your smile stays?" Harry said as he saw the cat's smile grow with amusement.

"You humans and your crazy ideas. Yes, I could do that, but why? Why copy some copycat? No, I think I have too much self-respect for that." Crookshanks said, and Harry got the feeling the cat was mocking him.

"Okay then what?" Harry said, leaning on his broom as he gazed down at the cat, who stopped smiling and got up onto it's feet.

"Geez, can't a cute young kitten like me just want to have a conversation with someone. All the other animals around here are quite contempt to simply be house-hold pets with no brains, but I, good sir, am a being of intellect. When you're in a better mood for speaking and have something of intelligence to say; feel free to look me up."

"Sorry, but I am trying to sneak out here." Harry said as the cat scoffed at him.

"Follow me." Crookshanks said as Harry rolled his eyes and followed the cat down the stairs.

* * *

><p>The noise of the storm was even louder in the Common Room. Harry knew better than to think the match would be canceled; Quidditch matches weren't called off for trifles like thunderstorms. Nevertheless, he was starting to feel very apprehensive. Wood had pointed Cedric Diggory out to him in the corridor once; Diggory was a Fifth Year student and a lot bigger than him. Seekers were usually light and speedy, but Diggory's weight would be an advantage in this weather because he was less likely to be blown off course.<p>

Harry barely paid attention to where he was going as he followed Crookshanks. He still couldn't believe he was doing it. Following a talking cat around a magical school for no real reason. He would have been better off whiling away the hours until dawn in front of the fire, getting up every now and then to stop Crookshanks from sneaking up the boys' staircase again. Plus, he got the feeling that; with every step he took, someone was following him from the shadows, but since this feeling had become rather common to him, he didn't think much on it.

"We're here." Crookshanks said as he came to a stop and sat down on the ground. Harry blinked as he barely stopped himself from stepping on the cat's swishing tail.

"Where is here?" Harry asked as Crookshanks scoffed at him.

"Weren't you paying attention? Here." Crookshanks said as he raised a paw and pointed forward.

Harry followed Crookshanks paw to the large opening in front of them. Harry could tell that it was one of the many lavatories in the castle of a school. But this one… it seemed, somewhat… familiar… especially the "Out of Order" sign that hung in the air in front of it…

"Myrtle's Lavatory…" Harry muttered as he cast a confused look at Crookshanks.

"I heard you muttering about needing to talk to her yesterday, so I thought this'd be the best time to do so." Crookshanks supplied as Harry blinked in surprise at the cat for his understanding nature.

"Umm… I don't know what to say…" Harry said as Crookshanks' smile was back in full effect.

"A simple thank you would suffice."

"Umm… Thanks, you're the best talking-cat I know." Harry said as Crookshanks walked up to the wall beside the entrance and got comfortable by laying down.

"I'm the _only_ one you know, idiot. Now go, I'll nap watch." Crookshanks said as Harry moved to enter the lavatory, but stopped.

"Don't you mean _stand_ watch?" Harry asked as he had heard the saying many times.

"I know what I said." Crookshanks replied with his eyes closed and in that cat-napping position that Harry had seen Ms. Figg's cats in all the time.

Harry could only shake his head as he made his way into the lavatory. It was just as he remembered it, but now far darker and grimy with the storm outside.

"What are you doing in here?" a shrill voice cried out as Harry turned around, staring into the face of a ghostly female version of himself. The lankly black hair, the fringe, the glasses just like his. This ghost was "Moaning" Myrtle, and she appeared to have been crying.

"Myrtle, don't do that! You scared me half to death." Harry said as he stepped back from her, their faces a little to close for comfort.

"Oh, Harry Potter? What are you doing in here? Come to see little old me?" Myrtle said seductively as Harry felt his face grow hot.

"Umm… Y-Yes, actually." Harry said somewhat embarrassed as Myrtle's act dropped while she adopted a more confused look.

"Whatever for, Harry? I would think you into the more… _livelier_ type of girl." Myrtle said, moving toward Harry.

"To be honest, I've been hanging around the dead a little too much lately, and I've noticed that some of the spirit girls are rather pretty." Harry said as he looked at Myrtle.

It was then he noticed that Myrtle looked differently to him than she did before. She didn't seem as transparent as she used to. In fact, he couldn't see through her at all. She wasn't that grey that ghosts had been before. She appeared to have color to her body. If there had been more light, Harry was sure he'd see her properly, but even so he could tell that she looked like any other student of Hogwarts; live. Her lankly black, her face didn't seem to have the imperfections it held last year. She also seemed to be shorter than last year, but maybe that was because he was getting taller.

"Oh Harry. Look whose growing up. You've gotten so tall." Myrtle said as she reached out to pinch his cheek.

"Ow!" Harry said, slapping her hand away as she stared at him in shock.

"What the…? How…?" Myrtle muttered to herself in surprise and shock as she pinched at him again.

"Ow! Cut that out!" Harry said, grabbing her wrist firmly to stop her from hurting his face anymore.

Wait… _grabbing_ her wrist…?

Both Myrtle and Harry stared in shock at his hand; her wrist caught in his hand to be more precise. Myrtle and Harry looked at each other in shock as well. As far as either had ever known it, ghosts couldn't touch the living. Whenever they tried to, the living person always caught a small feeling of being dead for a second while the dead got the spark of life for only a moment.

"How are you doing this? Did you die?" Myrtle asked in shock as Harry shook his head slowly.

"No… Not that I know of." Harry said, more to himself than her.

Harry was so caught up in his thoughts that he didn't catch the look on Myrtle's face. Before he knew it, Myrtle had flung herself atop him and knocked them both to the cold stone floor of the lavatory.

Her mouth on his, kissing him with a longing feeling that Harry was too shocked to respond to. She poured every emotion she could into his mouth as she licked at his lips for entrance. Harry was far too surprised by the whole situation to put up a fight as she slipped her tongue into his mouth and began to caress his tongue with her own.

Harry noted, once he had calmed himself to a certain degree, that Myrtle's kissing was clumsy and unrefined like the way Lisa or Draco kissed him. It was very inexperienced and unpracticed like when he had kissed Susan and Daphne that one time. He responded to her at long last, taking control of the kiss as he wrapped his arms around her waist. Myrtle's eyes had been closed the entire time as she wrapped her own arms around his neck and gave into him. He explored every corner of her mouth that he could, finding that she had no taste or scent for him or from him. She was simply blank, like a fresh canvas for a painter, and he was happy to be the first to mark her. Just like with Draco and the others…

Harry's eyes snapped open as he thought of Draco; his girlfriend who masqueraded around school as a boy. Was he so new to their relationship and so disbelieving of it still that he allowed it to slip his mind so easily? What would Draco say this time? What could he himself say in his own defense when he was the one now doing the ravishing?

Harry parted from Myrtle, who looked clouded and dizzy as he brought both of them to their feet. Myrtle was smiling widely, looking the happiest he had ever seen the girl since she had told him of her death. He backed away from her, feeling slightly disgusted with himself at having allowed himself to be unfaithful to Draco again.

"Myrtle… I… You… How did this happen?" Harry breathed out in complete confusion as Myrtle seemed to slowly come down from Cloud Nine.

"We make good smoochums…" Myrtle said incoherently before shaking her head animatedly, "What'd ya say?"

"I asked how this happened? How is it even possible? Last year you were punching intangibly through my head and stomach just to make a point, and now you're tongue's been shoved down my throat." Harry said, his hands shaking as he stared down at them. He had cheated on Draco again…

"I think I can explain that." a feminine voice said from the shadows as Harry fumbled for his wand, cursing lowly when he couldn't find it.

"I must have let it in the room…" Harry said to himself as the voice scoffed.

Wait a second… Harry knew that condescending scoff from anywhere…

"Soi Fon?" Harry asked as the young Asian girl stepped out from her hiding place near the darkened corner of the toilet stalls.

"Humph. What kind of fighter are you? Not sensing me, and leaving your only weapon behind? I knew you were foolish, Potter, but not that foolish with a killer on the loose after you." Soi Fon said with her trademark smirk that was like a wasp sting to Harry's pride while she crossed her arms coolly.

"Excuse me, but I'm _not_ a fighter, and you're excused for thinking up the thought. I'm a Third Year student, Soi Fon. Besides, I thought Crookshanks was guarding this room." Harry said as he felt something brush pass his leg.

"Oh trust me, I am. I sensed her long before we got here. She's been with us ever since we were atop the staircase to the boy's dorm. I'm surprised you couldn't sense her, what with her not hiding her presence at all." Crookshanks said as he came to a stop just pass Harry to be between him and Soi Fon.

"I did sense her… I think, but I always get the feeling someone is following me from the shadows. I guess that would be you and your ninja?" Harry said pointedly as he crossed his own arms while Soi Fon frowned.

"Yes, and it would seem they need to be trained better in stealth if the likes of you can sense them…" Soi Fon said as her fists clenched on her arms, "… and me."

"Yes well… That's all well and good, but what about the matter at hand?" Crookshanks said, his fluffy tail swishing while his feline eyes seemed to narrow on Myrtle.

"You're right, cat. My re-training can be planned out another time. This anomaly needs to be dealt with." Soi Fon said as she moved closer to them all. Myrtle only seemed to be stretched between shy at having new people which could probably interact with her like Harry, concerned at what they would do to her, and then a deep annoyance at being ignored and labeled an "anomaly".

"I have a name, ya know." Myrtle muttered as Soi Fon seemed to grow deeply serious.

"Your name is of little concern right now. The situation we're presented with is highly unusual, and doesn't require your identity to be known. In fact, I think it would be better if said identity stayed unknown while-"

"Now wait just one minute, Soi Fon!" Harry started caringly as both Soi Fon and Myrtle shot Harry surprised and shocked looks. He rarely ever raised his voice above that of a normal speaking tone and he was equally calm about things. However, he had raised his voice and he looked angry at Soi Fon's dismissal of Myrtle's being, invoking in the both girls a spark of respect and admiration as well as a small amount of fear.

Soi Fon herself almost forgot who was in charge and the warrior when she felt Harry's spiritual pressure stir somewhat.

"Harry…" Crookshanks said in his deeply masculine voice as he flickered his tail from side to side, "You have to control yourself. There are bigger things here than just her name being mentioned. You being able to touch and interact with spirits, especially those of Hogwarts' ghosts, is no small feat and is highly peculiar. We need to see why this is happening and what's causing it to happen."

Harry stared at Crookshanks, the cat staring back with a steely gaze of seriousness. He had never once entertained the thought that animals beside snakes could speak, but he supposed that every animal (magical or not, but mostly magical) had their own language and could be taught English just as Crookshanks was speaking it. However, that didn't denote from his point of Crookshanks being right nor from his own self-reflection on the situation.

Was it really that important; being able to see the Hogwarts' ghost differently and being able to touch or "interact" with them as Soi Fon and Crookshanks had been saying? Was it that big a deal? More to the point was what they would do to Myrtle? He didn't care much about what they had to say to him, but Myrtle was technically under their jurisdiction as a ghost.

"Fine, but what are you all gonna do?" Harry said as Soi Fon looked almost as confused about the happenings as he was.

"We'll let Kurotsuchi handle this, as it is his field." Soi Fon said, and for a second, even Soi Fon sounded a little nervous about following through on what she had just said.

* * *

><p>"My word… This is interesting! This could be the discovery of the year!" Mayuri said excitedly as he had Myrtle sitting in a chair while wires ran from her body to his overly large computer.<p>

Harry had long since found enormous computer a marvel in not just the sense that it was big, but also because he had never been used a computer before. The Dursley's owned one, in which Dudley played many computer games, but if Harry went to close to it, then he'd be beaten up by Dudley, and later punished by Uncle Vernon or Aunt Petunia for "getting his freakiness near there normal marvel of technology". Mayuri told him not to touch his computer without expressed permission, however, Harry didn't feel like being experimented on to get said permission.

"Don't you mean _century?"_ Harry asked as Mayuri gave him a bored look.

"You, a human, would have _no_ understanding of the advancements of the Soul Society. We of the Soul Society make discoveries so often that my Captain created the Department of Research and Development just to organize and patent them all." Mayuri said in that oily and superior tone that grated Harry's nerves.

"Oh yeah. Real advanced to say you all still run about the worlds in kimonos and all Japanese-like." Harry quipped back sarcastically as Mayuri turned to him, still typing at a near blur of speed.

"Yes, says the boy wearing a cloak, carrying a wooden stick to cast spells, and riding on a broom for travel and dangerous sports." Mayuri shot back coolly as Harry rolled his eyes.

"At least we have transportation. The muggle world is at least a full two centuries on the Wizarding World. What do you Soul Reapers have? Oh, that's right; your _feet."_ Harry said, feeling that it was a little childish to be having such a debate while Mayuri worked.

"Yes, but we can travel faster than the speed of sound in the blink of an eye. We can manipulate time and space. We can even slay spirits while Lisa tells me this little school is having trouble with a simple annoying little poltergeist." Mayuri said as he turned back to his computer.

"Well, I don't know much about magic yet, but Peeves is only annoying. He's not dangerous… much. Besides, he adds character to the school." Harry defended, even though he'd ring Peeves' neck if he could.

"Oh, I'm sure." Mayuri said, the sarcasm nearly palpable (a word he learned from Professor McGonagall).

"Well, wizards can travel from one place to another in an instant. They have this thing called Floo powder, see. All you do is throw some of the powder into a fireplace or any fire really, call out the name of the place you wanna go, and jump in. You'd normally be at the place, no matter where it is so long as it has a fireplace or the like, in five seconds flat." Harry said as Mayuri's ears, or at least what Harry believed were the clown-like guy's ears, seemed to perk up and revolve circularly at his words.

"Really…? Then maybe it would prove interesting should you acquire some of this… Floo powder, for study. I'm sure we of the Soul Society-"

But before Mayuri could finish, his computer seemed to get a reading as a processor started spitting out paper. It didn't seem to be going fast enough for Mayuri as the man hurried to it and waited for the results impatiently. When it finally stopped, Harry and Soi Fon (who had waited behind him just as impatient as Mayuri had been over the results) moved closer to Mayuri while Myrtle leaned forward in the chair.

"Well, what do they say?" Soi Fon snapped irritably as she crossed her arms. The damn freak show clown was taking far too long reading those results for her liking, and her anxiety was starting to get to her.

"Interesting… Most interesting indeed…" Mayuri muttered as he read from the long paper, it's bottom half coming to rest at the floor while Mayuri read the top.

"What?" Soi Fon asked before Harry could.

"Hmm… that's odd…" Mayuri said with a raised brow as Harry and Soi Fon were growing just as worried as Myrtle was. Crookshanks didn't seem to care much as he sat atop Mayuri's research table watching them while his tail flickered side to side.

"What?" Harry and Soi Fon asked in unison.

"Most peculiar…" Mayuri said to himself once more as all three leaned forward as much as they could without falling.

"_What_?" the three asked loudly as Mayuri finally seemed to remember them.

"Huh? Oh, she's still a spirit and hasn't changed one bit since she's died." Mayuri said as he tossed away the long paper while Harry and Soi Fon fell to the ground along with Myrtle.

"You _idiot_! We thought you had found something!" Soi Fon yelled as Mayuri gazed at her in disinterest.

"I _did_ discover something, you twit. The problem and solution don't lie within that one." Mayuri said, pointing to Myrtle as some of the other Soul Reapers from Mayuri's division helped her take off the wires, "It lies within Harry himself."

"What?" Harry asked in surprise as Mayuri's white-painted index finger pointed directly at him.

"Yes, you moron; you! It's now obvious that she hasn't changed in the least, so that would logically mean that you changed! Keep up, will you?" Mayuri said, getting annoyed at having to deal with Harry's more clueless side while the boy was still a bit shocked, "You've been around the school before, and from what the girl here has stood us, not even Voldemort nor Dumbledore could interact with Earth-bound spirits like her and the other ghosts of the magical community. That would mean that it's not the wizards, but _you_ specifically. You had to have changed from in-between last year and now. I'm not sure what caused you to gain the ability to interact with us, but whatever it is must have happened in between that time."

"Yes, but that's not what we're here for. We're here to determine why now he's able to touch her." Crookshanks said, reminding them all of his presence.

"Yes… you're right. Though I do admit to being curious as to what happened for him to acquire such an ability as to not only interact with us, but with the Earth-bound spirits of this land as well." Mayuri said as he rubbed at his chin, "However, getting back to the matter at hand, the answer to that is simple now that we know it's him who has changed."

"Then what _is_ the answer?" Soi Fon asked in annoyance, quickly growing tired with all of Kurotsuchi's double-talk. Mayuri must have noticed it as well, as he cleared his throat and stood up a little straighter.

"He's been around us. Our presence around him is giving his own spiritual energy a testing measure. As you know, once a normal soul has been exposed to excessive amounts of spiritual energy, they tend to acquire spiritual power of their own."

"But we've all kept our power in check. That's one of the most basic skills a Shinigami must learn before they are allowed past the Academy!" Soi Fon refuted as Mayuri raised a brow.

"Yes, that is true, but that doesn't mean we don't slip every now and then. Besides, none of us can completely suppress our spiritual energy. Harry's been slowly absorbing that energy off of us unintentionally, and it is my theory that he will eventually gain enough to unlock his own untapped potential." Mayuri said as everyone was quiet. Soi looked almost as shocked as Harry did, while Myrtle only seemed confused by the terms used. Crookshanks did nothing more than gaze coolly at Harry, the cat's eyes showing not a single emotion other than curiosity.

Finally, after a long while, Harry sighed and sat down. He raked a hand through his hair as he looked up at a still shocked Soi Fon and a pensive Mayuri while Crookshanks gave him as sharp a gaze as Professor McGonagall did when in her own cat form.

Harry sat there, Crookshanks having climbed into his lap after a while, deep in thought over the news that had come to him. He pet Crookshanks gently, his hand moving without thought as the cat found it quite enjoyable. Soi Fon had left to return Myrtle to her haunting space, telling the young dead Hogwarts' student that it was quite rude to simply faze through walls and the like. Mayuri went back to work, leaving Harry to his thoughts as he ran through research reports and testing of experiments.

"Hey, Mayuri, where's Jushiro?" Harry asked as he finally decided to leave his thoughts for another day, or at least see what Jushiro thought about it all.

"Oh him?" Mayuri said, not turning from his computer as he gave a vague gesture, "Captain Ukitake is on field duty for the next week or so. He didn't have to be, what with being a Captain and all, but the man wanted to "pull his own weight" as he so put it. I myself don't understand his reasoning, nor his illogical behavior. I wouldn't step foot outside of the command center if one of these other morons could go. Especially not with that illness of his…" Mayuri said, talking more to himself than to Harry as Harry sighed and got up from his chair.

* * *

><p>Harry and Crookshanks walked out of the door and closed it, moving sluggishly toward the Gryffindor dorm. Harry thought it had to be time for breakfast, with it having felt like many hours had passed, so when he arrived, he headed through the portrait after giving Sir Cadogan the password. After getting dressed and doing his morning rituals, Harry moved out of the portrait again to go down for breakfast.<p>

"Stand and fight, you mangy cur! You having disturbed my slumber!" Sir Cadogan yelled at Harry's back and Crookshanks' tail.

"Oh, shut up." Crookshanks said as Harry yawned the same thing out over his shoulder at the portrait.

"Great, the day of our first game, and I haven't slept a wink." Harry said as Crookshanks nodded his furry lion-like head.

"Quite right, but with all that's happened, you should be glad you chose not to stay in bed." Crookshanks said as Harry shrugged.

"I guess." Harry said, covering his mouth as another yawn escaped him. He supposed that with all the excitement and worry over for the moment, his body was staring to feel the effects of not having enough sleep.

"Potter, who are you talking to?" a voice called behind him as Harry looked over his shoulder to see Blaise Zabini and Theo Nott while two sluggish and sleepy-looking people followed the two.

"No one, just myself." Harry said quickly with a glance as Crookshanks began to purr and such instead of speak. He supposed the talking-cat didn't want to be found out anytime soon, and Harry had to admit that with how smart Crookshanks was, he doubted the cat would ever be discovered unless he wanted to.

"Isn't that Granger's cat? Why's it with you?" Draco observed through half-closed lids and a hand to stifle his yawn. Harry chuckled at just how cute Draco looked when sleepy before he walked over to the blond and scooped him into his arms. Right before he laid a kiss on Draco's lips, he remembered what he had done with Myrtle. He pulled back, feeling dirty when after having showered and felt guilt along with shame encroach upon him. Draco must have noticed, but he was giving him a look that conveyed both concern and suspicion.

"Harry… is something the matter?" Draco asked, looking slightly annoyed as he crossed his arms and tapped his shoe-clad foot against the floor below it.

"No-… Yes. Yes, Draco, something is wrong…" Harry said somberly as he took Draco's hands in his own before breathing out a sigh.

He quickly told Draco what had happened. He didn't mention the Soul Reapers nor Mayuri's results, feeling that it wasn't his choice whether to tell them about the Soul Reapers being in the school or not. Draco listened, and it scared Harry somewhat at how calm Draco was being about it all. In fact, Harry was alarmed at how the others around him listened in with such a cultivated calm, that Harry got the feeling he was in a den of sleeping lions.

"… and that's what happened. I'm so sorry, Draco. I don't know what came over me, I just-" Harry didn't get to finish his apology as he found Draco's lips pressed softly against his own. He didn't understand it; he had cheated on Draco, and now he was being kissed for it? Before he could deliberate on it more, Draco ended the kiss, taking Harry's tie in hand and fixing up Harry's appearance somewhat.

"You talk to much, Potter." Draco said as he fixed Harry's tie and straightened Harry's cloak.

"I… I don't understand…" Harry muttered, looking directly at Draco.

"You didn't cheat on me… exactly. She just caught you off-guard and as soon as you remembered me you stopped. I get that you're a little… repressed for attention and have never had a relationship before. I even understand that we've done little to nothing to show where we stand with each other, but I'm glad that you're starting to learn. I don't pretend to be the relationship expert, having only my parents and other couples around me as guides, but I'm sure we'll get through this… together." Draco said with a small smile on his face as he looked up from Harry's tie to the taller boy's face. Harry realized how close Draco was to him, but still felt to ashamed of himself to touch his faithful and trusting relationship partner.

"But why aren't you mad? I kissed her back. I cheated on you. Why aren't you throwing a hissy fit like last time? Like every time some girl passes me and gives me a second glance." Harry said before he was rubbing his arm where Draco punched him.

"I do _not_ throw hissy fits. I merely express my distain in an… emotional manner. Besides, this time is much different from last time." Draco said as Harry still looked confused.

"How?" Harry asked as Theo scoffed lightly at him.

"Well for one, you haven't been putting your lips on every girl you pass like some lecher from Japan." Theo supplied as Harry blushed crimson, though for some reason he thought of Shunsui when Theo was speaking about him.

"Another is that we didn't have to find out from some passing gossip girls. You saw Draco and told him immediately instead of waiting for the storm to come to you." Pansy said as she looked like she wanted to hurt Harry badly just under the surface of her calm façade. Harry's face only deepened in its red color as Harry had not realized last time what waiting would do to Draco.

"And one of the final points is that you weren't the one to kiss the girl. She kissed you. How Moaning Myrtle was able to kiss you, I don't know, but she did, and she's the one whose at fault here." Blaise concluded as Harry sighed.

"Her name is Myrtle; not Moaning Myrtle. And I don't think she knew I had a…umm-"

"I'm a girl, you dolt! Merlin, I've told you this already!" Draco said as he hit Harry again.

"Ow, that hurts. And yes you have, but with you having a boy's form it's a little odd calling you a girl." Harry said as Blaise and Theo exchanged looks before shrugging.

"Potter's right. We normally just call ya Draco, no matter what form you're in." Blaise said as Theo looked bored with them as he nodded.

"Fine. I guess in this form I'm your boyfriend, but remember that _I am a girl_, Potter." Draco said as Harry shrugged, not really caring either way.

"Right, but like I said; she didn't know I was seeing someone. Plus, she had finally been able to touch someone after like thirty years. What would you have done?" Harry asked as Draco looked him in the eye before sighing.

"I would probably have groped ya." Pansy admitted honestly with a shrug as Blaise and Theo nodded in agreement. Draco's slightly pale face couldn't heat up fast enough as he stuttered out protest to any of his friends who wanted to grope Harry.

Harry found the whole scene in front of him rather cute and heart warming. It was like he was getting an inside look at not only Draco and his friends, but the Slytherins in general. The sight of Draco's flushed face while Pansy and Blaise teased him was so amusing; so natural of school friends. The sight of Theo's small smile as he shook his head at his friends' behavior made Harry believe the scene in front of him even more for some reason.

It made him give his prejudice against the House of Slytherin a second look over. Even before he had come to Hogwarts he had heard bad about Slytherin house. It wasn't that he paid it much attention at first, but then he met Ron, Draco, and all the others. He still remembered how put-off he had been by not only Draco's apparent "attempts to impress him", but also the overall appearance of those in the house of snakes. He had out-right refused to be around them, even after the hat had told him he could have been great in the house of Salazar Slytherin. They had all appeared like a rather unsavory bunch, sort of like the goblins that ran Gringotts or the , but neither were so unpleasant.

He wondered how many others did he choose to ignore or shun with his bias. How many others that could laugh so warmly but look so evil? How many others that protected their own friends while keeping up appearances to stave off the emotional blows of others?

It was then Harry decided that he would give, not only the Slytherins, but everyone a fair shake before he decided to label them with such brands as "good" and "evil". In fact, having come to this most recent self-examination, he questioned if there were such things as good and evil. Then he flinched, as if something stirred his soul while his scar flared to remind him.

Oh yeah… Voldemort…

"Harry? Harry, you alright there?" Blaise's voice cut through the fog of Harry's thoughts as he shook his head, smiling at the four Slytherin's before him like he had never allowed himself to before. They all seemed a bit taken back with his now open warmness and new air of friendly, but Draco seemed proud of it as he smiled back shyly.

"Yeah, I'm just fine." Harry said as he took Draco into his arms, not bothering to kiss the blond as he simply reveled in the closeness of their bodies.

Somehow, he felt like another burden had been lifted. He felt as if he was seeing the world around him in a much clearer picture than he had before.

"I don't know what's got into you, but I like it." Draco said as he snuggled into Harry's chest and closed his eyes.

"Yeah… I like it too…" Harry said as he rested his head atop Draco's while the other three looked upon the couple with smiles and happy feelings.

* * *

><p>They enjoyed the peace for a few minutes before they began to here steps and voices coming toward them. They separated in the Great Hall, Harry being one of the only three Gryffindors at the table at eight in the morning. Harry glanced around, seeing that Luna and Diggory were already up and to their tables enjoying breakfast with the few people who were there. Draco and his band of snakes were the only Slytherins up as Draco kept giving him sly glances and cute looks. Harry glanced up at the staff table, noting that the only two professors that were about at the early hour were the Art Professor, Professor Fayheart, and the Astronomy Professor, Professor Sinistra, who didn't turn from each other as they spoke at length about something Harry could barely hear whispers of, though he still didn't follow any of it.<p>

He had no clue what turning "it" back three turns did, or even what "it" was.

He settled his nerves and mind over a large bowl of porridge and a cup of Luna's tea. By the time he'd started on his toast, the rest of the team had turned up. Harry wondered what time it was, seeing how the storm above made everything seem night-like and dark.

"It's going to be a tough one…" Oliver Wood muttered, not eating anything as he simply gazed up at the raging storm above them, being shown because of the spell on the ceiling which made the ceiling show the weather outside and directly above it.

"Stop worrying, Oliver." Alicia said soothingly, "We don't mind a bit of rain."

Harry thought her either mocking the weather, or crazy as even him without his glasses could see it was considerably more than "a bit of rain". Such was the popularity of Quidditch that the whole school turned out to watch the match as usual, but they ran down the lawns toward the Quidditch field, heads bowed against the ferocious wind, umbrellas being whipped out of their hands as they went. Just before he entered the locker room, Harry saw Draco watching along with some girls and even a few boys. He noticed that all of Draco's friends were under enormous umbrellas, all making their way to the stadium.

The team changed into their scarlet robes and waited for Wood's usual pre-match pep talk, but it didn't come. He tried to speak several times, made an odd gulping noise, then shook his head hopelessly and beckoned them to follow him.

The wind was so strong that they staggered sideways as they walked out onto the field. If the crowd was cheering, they couldn't hear it over the fresh rolls of thunder. Rain was splattering over Harry's glasses. He wished someone had bothered to teach him a spell to repel water, but supposed it was his own fault for not actually looking for one.

How on earth was he going to see the Snitch in this weather?

He had little time to think of that, however, as the Hufflepuffs approached from the opposite side of the field, wearing canary-yellow robes. The Captains walked up to each other and shook hands; Diggory smiled at Wood, but Wood now looked as though he had lockjaw and merely nodded. Harry saw Madam Hooch's mouth form the usual words of, "Mount your brooms." He pulled his right foot out of the mud with a squelch and swung it over his Nimbus Two Thousand. Madam Hooch put her whistle to her lips and gave it a blast that sounded shrill and distant-

They were off, tearing through the sky already.

Harry rose fast, but his Nimbus was swerving slightly with the wind. He held it as steady as he could and turned, squinting into the rain.

Within five minutes Harry was soaked to his skin and frozen, hardly able to see his teammates, let alone the tiny Snitch. He flew backward and forward across the field past blurred red and yellow shapes, with no idea of what was happening in the rest of the game. He couldn't hear the commentary over the wind. The crowd was hidden beneath a sea of cloaks and battered umbrellas. Twice Harry came very close to being unseated by a Bludger; his vision was so clouded by the rain on his glasses he hadn't seen them coming.

* * *

><p>"I hope Potter knows what he's doing. This storm is strong enough that even I'd have some trouble in it." Soi Fon said from her spot inside the largely clothed tower, watching the Quidditch game through the use of Kido.<p>

"I'm sure Harry will be fine. We have to focus on watching for the Dementors and being sure that Ukitake is okay in this weather." Crookshanks said sitting up as his tail lay still on the floor behind him.

"When are you gonna tell him?" Soi Fon said as Crookshanks glanced over at the young Asian woman with sharp feline eyes.

"When are you gonna admit you like him?" Crookshanks countered as Soi Fon blushed cutely.

"Never." Soi Fon said, gritting her teeth as Crookshanks smiled that twisted grin.

"Then we're in agreement." and that was all that was said between the talking-cat and Soul Reaper as they both went back to observing the match while watching for danger and one Jushiro Ukitake.

* * *

><p>"Oh my, I would have never thought such fierce weather could exist in the Human World as this. It would appear that a Zanpakuto had been released on a Bankai-level to create such a terrible storm. Nevertheless, I must press on and check the perimeter." Jushiro said as he moved through the storm under protective Kido to keep himself from getting a cold.<p>

A cold was dangerous to his already sickly health, though he had to admit that spending some much time around the castle had made him feel better. Perhaps it was all the abundant energy around the place, or maybe it was just being near the youthful spirits of the children. Whatever it was, Jushiro didn't care as he had been feeling well enough to not have a cough for days. _Days_!

* * *

><p>Harry lost track of time in the hazardous weather. It was getting harder and harder to hold his broom straight. The sky was getting darker, as though night had decided to come early and stay a while. Twice he nearly hit another player, without knowing whether it was a teammate or opponent; everyone was now so wet, and the rain so thick, he could hardly tell them apart…<p>

With the first flash of lightning came the sound of Madam Hooch's whistle; Harry could just see the outline of Wood through the thick rain, gesturing him to the ground. The whole team splashed down into the mud.

"I called for time-out!" Wood roared at his team over the thunder, "Come on, under here!"

They huddled at the edge of the field under a large umbrella; Harry took off his glasses and wiped them hurriedly on his robes.

"What's the score?" one of the twins asked while Harry was too preoccupied to look up. If he had to guess, it was Fred due to the voice being just a bit deeper than George's.

"We're fifty points up." Wood said as though they were losing by those fifty, "but unless we get the Snitch soon, we'll be playing into the night."

"I've got no chance with these on." Harry said exasperatedly, waving his glasses as he gave up on cleaning them.

At that very moment, Hermione appeared at his shoulder; she was holding her cloak over her head and was, inexplicably, beaming. Harry looked at her, bemused by her timely appearance as she smiled at him.

"I've had an idea, Harry! Give me your glasses, quick!" Hermione said, brandishing her wand.

"Just when you need help, there's Mione." Harry teased his female friend, speaking as though they were in some bad 60's family show.

"Maybe I'll stop coming if you going to tease me so much." Hermione said, putting her hands on her hips as Harry simply grinned at her.

"But how would I survive without you helping me?" Harry said jokingly, though it was true that he was glad for her and Ron. Without them he probably would have been dog's food in his fist year.

"Just give me your glasses." Hermione said as he chuckled, handing the pair of spectacles to her as the team watched on in amazement, just like he did while Hermione tapped his glasses with her wand and said, "_**Impervius**_!"

"Ah, good spell. We should have thought of that." Alicia muttered as Angelina nodded in agreement.

"I thought he would have had his glasses spelled already." Angelina muttered back as the twins shrugged.

"There!" Hermione said, clearly proud of herself for being a big help to her friend as she handed Harry back his glasses, "They'll repel water!"

Wood looked as though he could have kissed her. In fact…

"Oliver!" Harry's two female team members yelled while the twins roared in applause. Harry only blinked in complete surprise as Wood broke his kiss with Hermione, the young witch red-faced and unable to string together a coherent sentence as she walked away.

"You're brilliant! At both, I mean!" Wood called hoarsely after Hermione as she disappeared into the crowd, "Okay, team, let's go for it!"

* * *

><p>Hermione's spell had done the trick. Harry was still numb with cold, still wetter than he'd ever been in his life, but he could see. Full of fresh determination, he urged his broom through the turbulent air, staring in every direction for the Snitch, avoiding a Bludger, ducking beneath Diggory, who was streaking in the… opposite direction…<p>

There was another clap of thunder, followed immediately by forked lightning. This was getting more and more dangerous. Harry needed to get the Snitch quickly —

He turned, intending to head back toward the middle of the field, but at that moment, another flash of lightning illuminated the stands, and Harry saw something that distracted him completely.

It was the silhouette of an enormous shaggy black dog, clearly imprinted against the sky, motionless in the topmost, empty row of seats.

Harry felt his numb hands slipped on the broom handle and his Nimbus dropped a few feet. Shaking his sodden bangs out of his eyes, he squinted back into the stands. The dog had vanished.

"Harry!" came Wood's anguished yell from the Gryffindor goal posts. "Harry, behind you!"

Harry looked wildly around, his eyes catching that Cedric Diggory was pelting up the field, and a tiny speck of gold was shimmering in the rain-filled air between them…

With a jolt of panic, Harry threw himself flat to the broom handle and zoomed toward the Snitch.

"Come on!" he growled at his Nimbus as the rain whipped his face, "Faster, dammit!"

But something odd was happening. A bright light, almost like shield of happiness had formed, in front of as he raced toward the Snitch. Harry watched as the shield seemed to stop a hooded figure from approaching him. The thin was; they were at least fifty feet in the middle of the air. That was when fear gripped him as an eerie silence fell across the stadium.

"Dementor…" Harry muttered in shock and fear as he tired to evade the dark creature. He turned sharply toward the ground, before spinning and charging forward. He couldn't lose focus because of his fear; they still had a game to when. Harry looked down to where Diggory was, watching as the Hufflepuff streaked after the Snitch still. In looking down at his opponent, Harry noticed that his beaded bracelet was glowing the same warm orange color of the shield. Realization struck Harry as he steeled his determination and flew fast upon his broom. He was so glad to have Luna as a friend! He was sure to repay her later for her help.

* * *

><p>"A Dementor! But how?" Soi Fon asked in complete shock as she watched the arena through Kido. Crookshanks gave her an annoyed look.<p>

"What do you mean: how? The crack in the barrier Dumbledore put up was already there. This weather hasn't helped it any. The real question is: where's Ukitake?" Crookshanks said as Soi Fon slammed the flats of her hands to the sides of the showing.

"_**Bakudo #58**_-"

"Wait! You're gonna use that without the symbols or incantation? Stop! It would be mad-!"

"We don't have time! I know what I'm doing! When one joins the Stealth Force they learn the shortcuts for emergency purposes. Just look at the field!"

"My word, and Great Scott! So… many…"

* * *

><p>Jushiro leapt from tree to tree under his protective Kido as the storm continued to rage on. Something was amiss as he scanned the border on which the barrier was raised. Over the last few hours he had seen the Dementors ramming at the protective barrier; almost desperate to get past it to the souls that resided in Hogwarts. Now-<p>

"This isn't right… Now there are none of them. What has happened that they would all disappear so abruptly." Jushiro said to himself right before his eyes widened.

"_Captain Ukitake, this is Soi Fon! Sir, please report to the Quidditch Field immediately! The Dementors have broken through, and all are focused on Harry_!"

Ukitake needed no more words as he rushed to the Quidditch Pitch with all the speed that random intervals of flash-step granted him.

"I knew something was wrong! I should have never waded so far!" Jushiro said, both angered with himself and fearful for Harry's life.

* * *

><p>The wind was as strong as ever, making it hard for Harry to evade the Dementor that chased him while he tried staying on the Snitch. Then, out of nowhere, another Dementor rammed itself against his shield. Harry turned sharply, evading now two- no three Dementors as another rammed against his shield. It was beginning to prove difficult to keep sight of the Snitch, especially when the little ball of gold veered up into the stormy sky above while Harry gave chase. Harry moved past and broke through clouds as he chased the Snitch. He couldn't focus of him fear! He refused to! All he needed was to get the Snitch. Never mind the three Dementors that inspired fear in him like he had never felt before- No! His goal and the <em>only<em> thing to stay on his mind was the Snitch. The Snitch!

Then, he saw a crack in the barrier that kept the hooded Dementors away. Suddenly, as though someone had turned off all sound around him, Harry felt as though he had gone suddenly deaf.

"W-What on Earth going on?" Harry asked himself as he saw a Dementor block his path. Harry wanted to dodge, but the thing was directly in front of him and on the shield, near refusing to back away from it as more cracks and then fissures appeared in the orange barrier. Then the shield; the only protection he had against the Dementors, shattered, like glass under the strain of a hammer. Harry didn't even have time to get over the shock of it as a horribly familiar wave of cold swept over him, inside him, just as he became aware of something moving through the air below him.

The feeling left, slowly but surely as a flash of steel slashed through the Dementor that was in front of him. Harry barely had time to swirl his broom out of the way, catching only a glimpse of his savoir. The white-hair that swayed in all directions, the face set in stone with a near daunting frown, the brown eyes which glared at the dark creature which seemed to dissolve into air after being bisected through the middle, and the sword in hand as the hand's grip on the hilt of said sword.

"J-Jushiro…" Harry thought, feeling as though he would fall into unconsciousness if it were for the fear of failing his team and seeing the sickly Captain hurt by those dark creatures.

Harry lost sight of the Snitch while Jushiro followed after his near drunk flying pattern.

"Harry! Are you alright?" Jushiro asked as Harry looked at the man, expecting to see a broom under him but shocked to notice none.

So the warriors of heaven could apparently fly as well… At least that aspect made sense to Harry, though he would only registry it later when his weakened mind and spirit were stronger.

Harry gave Jushiro back no answer other than the fact that he was still flying, though at least no longer toward the sky. Harry flew, trying to level himself while his body and the storm protested his movements. He caught sight of Jushiro slicing another Dementor away before the man pointed his index and middle fingers together at another, shooting lightning at it.

Harry shook his head, trying hard to get out of his unbalanced state in order to help Jushiro somehow. Then he looked down… that had been his biggest mistake, for below him and Jushiro was not the Snitch or even a Professor as Harry had hoped to see, but at least a hundred Dementors with their hidden faces pointed up at him. They were all swarming beneath him and Jushiro, who looked to start having a tough time between killing them and keeping up with Harry.

Before Harry could even think to begin a plan of action, he felt as though freezing water were rising in his chest, cutting at his insides. He caught Jushiro look back at him with horror etched onto his normal calm face before the white-haired man abandoned the Dementor he was battling with to rush for him. He didn't even registry the yell he could see Jushiro doing before he felt himself descend.

And then he heard it again, like the last time the Dementor were near him… Someone was screaming, screaming inside his head… a woman…

_"Not Harry, not Harry, please not Harry!"_

_"Stand aside, you silly girl… stand aside, now…"_

_"Not Harry, please no, take me, kill me instead —"_

Numbing, swirling white mist was filling Harry's brain… he had no sense of direction, no sense of self. What was he doing? Why was he simply floating there while a woman screamed out in terror? He needed to help her… She was going to die… She was going to be murdered for his sake… her and Jushiro…

Then he felt himself falling again. Yes… he was falling, falling through the icy mist…

_"Not Harry! Please… have mercy… have mercy…"_

A shrill voice was laughing, the woman was screaming, and Harry knew no more. For what could have been any length of time, Harry could not see, could not hear. It was as if he had died, as if his senses were lost to him. Then he heard the voices. Not like the woman. No, these were muttering amongst each other as if respectfully not rising any higher for fear of something.

"Lucky the ground was so soft."

"I thought he was dead for sure."

"But he didn't even break his glasses."

Harry could hear the voices whispering, but they made no sense whatsoever as he tried to be near them. They sounded so close, and yet so far from him as he clawed his way to them desperately. He didn't have a clue where he was, or how he'd got there, or what he'd been doing before he got there. All he knew was that every inch of him was aching toward the voice, just before he felt his body ach as though it had been beaten.

"You fell off your broom."

"That was the scariest thing I've ever seen in my life."

Scariest… the scariest thing… hooded black figures… shield… Jushiro… sword… lightning… cold… screaming… screaming!

Harry's eyes snapped open. He was lying in the hospital wing. The Gryffindor Quidditch team, spattered with mud from head to foot, was gathered around his bed. Ron and Hermione were also there, looking as though they'd just climbed out of a swimming pool. He saw Crookshanks at the foot of his bed, curled up asleep while Soi Fon leaned against the wall next to his bed, unseen by all but him and maybe Madam Pomfrey.

"Harry!" Fred said, looking extremely white underneath, the mud making him seem paler, "How're you feeling?"

It was as though Harry's memory was on fast forward. The lightning… the Grim… the Snitch… the bracelet… Jushiro… the lightning from Jushiro… and the Dementors… and then-

"What happened?" he said, sitting up so suddenly they all gasped. His body flared with pain, but he merely gritted his teeth and got over it. He was, for once, proud to say that he had felt far worst in his short life.

"You fell off your broom…" Fred said, casting a glance at George, "Must've been — what — hundred feet?"

"Had to be." George replied as Hermione made a small squeaky noise. Her eyes were extremely bloodshot, as though she had been crying long and hard over something.

"But the match." Harry said, trying to distract them all from his situation with his curiosity with the game, "What happened? Are we doing a replay?"

"Why do you care about the match? You nearly died!" Hermione admonished with tears in her eyes as Ron laid a comforting hand on her. Hermione latched onto the comfort, hiding her face in Ron's shoulder.

"Yeah, but I'm okay, so I care more about what happened in the match than being in this bed. Now if it was someone else that nearly died…"

Harry trailed off as he saw that no one was saying anything. The horrible truth sank into Harry like a stone.

"We didn't — lose?"

"No… we all saw you fall and the game nearly ended as a tie, but Diggory got the Snitch." George said, "Just after you fell. He didn't realize what had happened. When he looked back and saw you on the ground, he tried to call it off. Wanted a rematch. But they won fair and square… even Wood admitted it."

"Where is Oliver?" Harry said, suddenly realizing Wood wasn't there.

"Still in the showers…" Fred said, a small grin worming it's way onto his features, "We think he's trying to drown himself."

Harry put his face to his knees, his hands gripping his hair. Fred grabbed his shoulder and shook it roughly.

"C'mon, Harry, you've never missed the Snitch before."

"Yeah, there had to be one time you didn't get it." George said as Ron gave his brother a look.

"Not helping." Ron said as Harry groaned.

"It's not over yet." Fred said, "We only lost by ten lost by ten points."

"Right? So if Hufflepuff loses to Ravenclaw and we beat Ravenclaw and Slytherin…"

"Hufflepuff'll have to lose by at least twenty to two hundred points." George pointed out as he looked in thought.

"But if they beat Ravenclaw…"

"No way, Ravenclaw is too good and too tactical. But if Slytherin loses against Hufflepuff…"

"It all depends on the points… a margin of a twenty to hundred either way…"

Harry lay there, not saying a word. They had lost… for the first time ever, he had lost a Quidditch match.

After ten minutes or so, Madam Pomfrey came over to tell the team to leave Harry in peace. She glanced at the spot where Soi Fon had been, but the young girl was gone. Almost as if she had never been there…

"We'll come and see you later." Fred told Harry as the latter settled back into the bed at Madam Pomfrey's haste, "Don't beat yourself up Harry, you're still the best Seeker we've ever had."

The team trooped out, trailing mud behind them. Madam Pomfrey shut the door behind them, looking disapproving. Ron and Hermione moved nearer to Harry's bed.

"Dumbledore was really angry, Harry." Hermione said in a quaking voice, "I've… I've never seen him like that before… He ran onto the field as you fell, waved his wand, and you sort of slowed down before you hit the ground. Then he whirled his wand at the Dementors. Shot silver stuff at them. They left the stadium right away… He was furious they'd come onto the grounds. We heard him yell about-"

"Then he magicked you onto a stretcher." Ron said quickly, cutting Hermione off as she shot him a look. He countered with a look of his before continuing the tale, "He even walked up to school with you floating on the thing in front of him. Everyone thought you were…"

Ron's voice faded, but Harry hardly noticed. He was thinking about what the Dementors had done to him… about the screaming voice. He looked up and saw that Ron and Hermione were looking at him so anxiously, that he quickly racked his brain for something matter-of-fact to say.

"Did someone get my Nimbus?"

Ron and Hermione looked quickly at each other, as if afraid to tell him something and debating mentally between themselves on who should.

"Err…"

"What happened to my broom?" Harry asked, receiving only silence as his answer, "Well, what?" Harry pressed, looking from one best friend to the other.

"Well… when you fell off, it got blown away…" Hermione said hesitantly.

"And…?" Harry pressed gently, having a bad feeling he knew what they were to say.

"And it hit… it hit… oh, Harry; it hit the Whomping Willow."

"Crap…" was all Harry could say as his insides lurched. The Whomping Willow was a very violent tree that stood alone in the middle of the grounds. Anything that went near it…

Well, you should know. What with a name like _Whomping_ Willow…

"And…?" Harry said wanting the full story, but still dreading the answer even though it was obvious even to him.

"Well, you know the Whomping Willow…" Ron said, "It — it doesn't like being hit."

"Professor Flitwick brought it back just before you came around…" said Hermione in a very small voice.

Slowly, she reached down for a bag at her feet, turned it upside down, and tipped a dozen bits of splintered wood and twig onto the bed, the only remains of Harry's faithful, finally beaten broomstick.

"Crap…" Harry said before he promptly threw himself backward onto his pillow.

He needed help... and fast!


	8. Grim and Hollow, Part 2

**Howdy, folks! Here it is, the second part of the Grim and Hollow Arc. This small Arc is to show how Harry takes one hit (mental and emotional) after another. It will also help to form his character later in the story and then his resolve "when the time is right". This arc will also show his growing closer to the Soul Reapers and how they're growing closer to him, along with him growing used to (subconsciously and unknowingly) the powers he's starting to develop thanks to hanging around powerful Soul Reaper characters, along with using a higher level of thinking and tactics to draw conclusions and solve problems.**

**Also, the first part of this chapter is sort of a tease for what's to come. Enjoy!**

**Also, here's a hint. The name is in Latin, not Japanese. _Nievo-…_**

**Chapter 8: Grim and Hollow, Part 2**

* * *

><p><em>Draco's usual scowl deepened as he coughed up blood. His entire being gave off frigid anger as he glared at the figure in front of him. This boy <em>dared_ to make him bleed his own blood_?

"_What's wrong_?" _the figure taunted with a smirk_, "_I thought you were gonna crush me under the weight of the Malfoy name? Did I mess up your plans_?"

_Draco, however, did not react to the boy's taunts. The boy had defeated Zachary. He bested that fool Moody. And had _somehow_ gotten the better of Lupin, but the boy would _not_ defeat him. _He_ would not allow it. His _pride_ would not allow it!_

"_I thought I also told you not to talk so big, _boy. _To boast already when you have yet to even see my Shikai… or my Bankai_." _Draco said, rising from where he was on his hurt knee. He gazed down at his now dismal uniform and white haori, which were now more shabby and disheveled than those of Lupin. Great, now he'd have to buy new ones_…

_Draco smiled slightly at the shocked face the boy had. Had the boy believed himself the victor? The superior? No, those were only delusions of grandeur. He didn't want to use his Shikai, so as to prove both to himself and the others that the boy's victors in battle were mere flukes. Honestly, Draco couldn't understand how such a boy had defeated one as well known as Kuchiki, let alone the likes of Moody and Lupin_.

_No, the boy's victors were only that; flukes to be shown for what they were now._

_Draco titled his head to the side slightly as he gazed upon the boy more closely. Young Toshiro Hitsugaya had told him about the boy while he and Hitsugaya were speaking with Slughorn a few weeks ago. The boy's Bankai was truly something. It compressed the boy's enormous power, giving it focus and concentration in all of it's attacks. With another hundred years of training, the kid might have defeated him. Add another thousand years to the child's training regiment, and he would be a match for even someone of Severus's caliber. Give the boy a million, and he would be able to take on the likes of even_-

_No. The boy would never, in all his days, be a match for _him_. Draco shook his head lightly with a small chuckle. What was he _thinking?_ To even _dream_ up such a ridiculous notion as that. This boy, a match for _him_? It was almost like comparing an _ant_ to the _sun_. Draco returned his attention to the boy. He narrowed his eyes as he noticed the boy was still in shock at the small fact he had dropped on the kid_.

_What were they doing there in the Japanese branch when the boy had challenged them? Having tea and playing games_? And _knowing Kyoraku, he probably wasn't far off from hitting the nail on the head_…

"_What is wrong, Ryoka boy? Did you _honestly_ think you could defeat me? Did you believe, _even for a second_, that I had been fighting the likes of _you_ at my fullest_?" _Draco started_,_ growing angry as the boy insulted his pride and name just by having such thoughts_, "_Well _don't_! I don't think _any_ of the ones you've faced so far while here have used their Zanpakuto against you! Arrogant fool! It was only this morning that our Wartime Restrictions were lifted and the Wartime Exemption was called into order_."

_Draco brought his sword up, his normal manicured hand now defiled with dirt. Just great, after dealing with the boy he'd have to go to the spa and schedule another appointment with Lady Hopkins…_

_Draco held his sword out and turned it carefully, as if it held a dangerous creature at the point of his blade before he moved it toward the ground._

"Hiss at the hiss, _**Nievo**_-"

"Draco! Get up, dude! I thought you wanted to see Potter today?"

Draco's eyes cracked open as he groaned from suddenly being jarred from his sleep. What an odd dream? That boy, their clothes (both his and the boys), and those swords. He couldn't make heads or tails of any of it. Wartime restrictions? Wartime Exemptions? His knowing Mad-Eye Moody and Horace Slughorn enough to speak about them mentally? Even his recent professor, that hack Lupin? Why would he ever speak kindly, especially enough to be shocked and appalled that some teen had beaten the piss-poor looker?

And who the hell were Toshiro Hitsugaya, Byakuya Kuchiki, and this Kyoraku person?

"Draco! Get your ass out of the bed! You had us wake up this earlier, so don't you back out now!" Pansy's voice shrieked, mostly from her missing precious hours of beauty sleep for him, as she pounded at his door like a crazy person. Draco only sighed as he tossed back the covers, "And don't forget to take your potion!"

"I'm up, dammit! And fine! I'll take the stupid potion!" Draco yelled back at the door in a sleepy stupor.

Maybe he'd just keep the dream to himself. If they continued to be so strange (and barbaric as to brawl with some muggle teen with something as silly as a sword), then he'd tell his friends ad Severus.

"Draco!"

"I'm bloody well coming, dammit!"

* * *

><p>Madam Pomfrey insisted on keeping Harry in the hospital wing for the rest of the weekend. It was strange. He didn't argue or complain, but he also wouldn't let her throw away the shattered remnants of his Nimbus Two Thousand. She gave him strange looks while he stared at the pile of wood chippings that used to be his broom. He knew he was being stupid, knew that the Nimbus was beyond almost any repair, but Harry couldn't help it; he felt as though he'd lost one of his best friends in the broom.<p>

Plus, it was helping him center his thoughts…

He had a stream of visitors, all intent on cheering him up. Hagrid sent him a bunch of earwiggy flowers that looked like yellow cabbages, and Ginny, who came in blushing furiously as she must have remembered their last meeting including a lip-lock, turned up with a get-well card she had made herself, which sang annoyingly unless Harry kept it shut under his bowl of fruit.

The Gryffindor team visited again on Sunday morning, this time accompanied by Wood, who told Harry (in a hollow, dead sort of voice) that he didn't blame him in the slightest. Ron and Hermione left Harry's bedside only at night, which was just about when Draco and his other nightly visitors (mostly Soi Fon and Crookshanks) came in to see him. But nothing anyone said or did could make Harry feel any better, because they knew only half of what was troubling him.

He hadn't told anyone about the Grim; not even Ron and Hermione, because he knew Ron would panic and Hermione would scoff. He had especially kept his mouth clamped tight about the whole incident after hearing that Jushiro was bedridden due to him catching a cold out in the rain.

The fact remained, however, that the Grim had now appeared twice, and both appearances had been followed by near-fatal accidents; the first time, he had nearly been run over by the Knight Bus; the second, fallen fifty feet from his broomstick after a hundred Dementors had attacked him and Jushiro. And the whole affair with Sirius Black being after him and having gotten into the castle even…

Oh, and let's not forget about those fun-lovin' Dementors. Harry felt sick and humiliated every time he thought of them as he bit out his sarcastic thought. Everyone said the Dementors were horrible, but no one else collapsed every time they went near one. No one else heard echoes in their head of their dying parents.

Because Harry knew who that screaming voice belonged to now. He had heard her words, heard them over and over again during the night hours in the hospital wing while he lay awake, staring at the strips of moonlight on the ceiling or the cluster of wood-shavings that now made up what was left of his broom. When the Dementors approached him, he heard the last moments of his mother's life, her attempts to protect him from Voldemort, and lastly Voldemort's laughter before he murdered her… Harry dozed fitfully, sinking into dreams full of clammy, rotted hands and petrified pleading, jerking awake to dwell again on his mother's voice.

"Harry!" a now very familiar voice said as he as looked up, only to see the front of a green silk pajama shirt as soft mounds were pressed against his face.

"Draco, why do you insist on suffocating me with your breasts every time you come to visit?" Harry asked as he pulled his face from the cleavage. While Draco's breasts weren't much, they were at least perky and firm, yet had a soft feel to them.

"Because I can… and because I never get any time with you like this." Draco said, a small blush on she gazed down at Harry.

"I spend a good deal of time with you when I can. Boy or girl, I've never had much experience with either before this year, so it really doesn't matter much to me. Just the fact that you love me is what I prefer." Harry said as he kissed Draco's hand.

"So you're a pansexual, ay Potter?" Blaise's amused voice floated over to him as Harry looked up to see Theo, Blaise, and Pansy.

"A what?" Harry asked in confusion.

"A pansexual. You know, someone who enters a relationship not based on gender but rather romantic interest or love." Blaise explained as Harry shrugged.

"I guess, but I have to admit I've always been interested in breasts. Not so much as I was last year and during the summer, but I still find them curious." Harry said as he gently poked Draco's chest, electing a squeaky moan from the blonde as Draco blushed red.

"Harry, don't do that. It's not proper." Draco admonished halfheartedly as Harry looked up at the blonde, blinking.

"Since when have you cared about being proper or not?" Harry asked as Draco straightened up.

"I'm a Malfoy, Potter. I have a family name and image to uphold." Draco said importantly as Harry only blinked some more before fondling the blonde's breasts with no shame while said blonde moaned under his touch.

"Well, I don't care about being proper and all that jazz. I like not being breed nobility, just as I like making you feel good under my touch." Harry said with a chuckle as he kissed Draco's neck.

"You are nobility, Potter. The Potter line is one of the most Ancient and Noble there are. Only a few houses predate House Potter, and those have all ended as far as anyone knows." Pansy said, blowing a bang of her hair from her faces as she crossed her arms.

"Do I have to act like him?" Harry asked as he pointed at Draco.

"I'm a girl, Potter!"

"Her then?"

"Well… No, not really. I mean, the Potters have always been kind odd in that sense of their gentry. I don't think there were ever too many snobby Potters who didn't get their arses kicked by their own family for being so."

"There you have it then. I'm noble, and can still function like a perfectly normal commoner of a human being." Harry said as he pulled Draco into his medical bed.

"You sure are talkative today, Potter. The last time we were here, you were so sullen about your broom. What's changed?" Theo asked as Harry shrugged, making the normally stoic boy narrow his eyes.

"I guess I'm just starting to cheer up. Especially knowing this one is here for me." Harry said, kissing Draco softly on the lips as the blonde responded eagerly.

Theo could only let his eyes narrow further. He could see Potter was conflicted over something, and he could see the barest amount of fear in the Gryffindor boy, mostly because such an emotion had never existed in Potter before. He had seen it the other time they had visited as well, but now he was sure he wasn't imagining things.

The only problem was, Theo couldn't determine what Harry's fear could stem from without asking questions. It could have been any of the things that had happened; from the hundred-foot drop, to the hundreds of Dementors that seemed to swarm the boy like bees.

"Hey, Potter. What happened up there, during the game I mean? We all saw you drop, but no one saw anything other than the Dementors swarming you out of the clouds while you dropped." Theo said, and saw Harry nearly tense before he was glared at by Draco.

"I… I don't know, Nott. One moment I'm fine, the next I dropped. I guess I'm still a little shakin' up about it all…" Harry said, his voice low as he stared at Draco's green bottoms.

Before Theo could ask anything else, they heard the sound of doors closing and sure enough, Madam Pomfrey was coming out of her office with a lit candle, yawning in exhaustion as she started to make her nightly rounds. Draco and the others were gone before Harry had even turned his head back to them, and Harry was sure that he didn't even here footsteps or the door to the medical ward close behind them as they made their escape. After Madam Pomfrey was done checking on him (which he told her she didn't need to do), the woman returned to her office, which Harry learned also held her quarters.

"That woman. She's annoyingly overprotective. I can hardly get in here without setting off her alarms and whatnot." Soi Fon said as she appeared from the shadows at the end of Harry's bed.

"Yet you get in here every hour on the hour." Harry said dryly as Soi Fon flashed him a cocky grin while her eyes shone.

"I was taught by the absolute best." Soi Fon proclaimed as she held a hand over her heart while she gave an almost peaceful sigh and look.

"I'm sure you were." Harry said in an amused tone as Soi Fon looked at him in irritation.

"Are you saying I wasn't? There are none better than my Lady. She is the best!" Soi Fon said as Harry rolled his eyes. He had learned long ago that Soi Fon could one of the most bi-polar people when it came to "her Lady", whoever that poor soul might be.

* * *

><p>Yoruichi sneezed cutely behind her desk in her office of the 2nd Division, her brush going across her paperwork in a huge slash line. She blinked at her ruined paperwork before giving a dramatic sigh.<p>

"Ahh… Now I'll have to make Kisuke do it all over for me again…" Yoruichi said in a mockingly sad voice while grinning evilly.

She loved being herself…

* * *

><p>It was a relief to return to the noisy hustle and bustle of the main part of the school Monday, where he was forced to think about other things than his problems with the Dementors, the needing a new broom, and the humiliation of having not only lost a game but also having fallen to the Dementors again. Even Harry had to admit that he had his pride, and the ripping the nastier Slytherins were giving him in place of Draco, who halfheartedly taunted him just to keep up face, was intense if nothing else.<p>

More than not, the snakes of the school were almost beside themselves with glee at Gryffindor's defeat. Draco had finally taken off his bandages (which he wore for no reason other than not having to do work in classes and to mess with Ron), and the blond celebrated having the full use of both arms again by doing spirited imitations of Harry falling off his broom, or quivering in the wake of Dementors. Draco spent much of their Monday's Potions class doing Dementor imitations across the dungeon; Ron finally cracked and flung a large, slippery crocodile heart at Draco, which hit him in the face and caused Snape to take fifty points from Gryffindor.

"You had better control your friend, Potter. Or next time, I'll kill him; no matter how much he means to you." Draco hissed as he passed Harry before walking down the hall, his robes billowed gently in his wake.

Harry hid an amused smile as he turned to his fast approaching friends, barely ctaching what Ron was in the middle of saying.

"… so if Snape's teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts again, I'm skiving off." Ron said as they headed toward Lupin's classroom after lunch, "Check who's in there, Hermione."

Hermione peered around the classroom door for a second before breathing a sigh of relief that she probably didn't notice.

"It's okay!"

Professor Lupin was back at work, and it certainly looked as though he had been ill. His old robes were hanging more loosely on him and there were these dark shadows beneath his eyes; nevertheless, he smiled at the class as they took their seats. As they did so, Harry had to cover his ears as the others all at once burst into an explosion of complaints about Snape's behavior while Lupin had been ill.

"It's not fair, he was only filling in, why should he give us homework?" one of his house mates complained while the others agreed.

"We don't know anything about werewolves-" another said as Harry saw Lupin flinch for a second as if struck before a look of understanding passed over his face.

"— two rolls of parchment!" Ron complained as Harry raised a brow at his friend's dramatics.

"Did you tell Professor Snape we haven't covered them yet?" Lupin asked, frowning slightly as though he knew something they didn't.

Then the babble broke out again.

"Yes, but he said we were really behind —"

"— he wouldn't listen —"

"— _two_ rolls of parchment!" Ron yelled in despair again as a chuckle slip from Harry's lips.

Professor Lupin smiled at the look of indignation on every face, and even chuckled a bit at Ron like Harry was.

"Don't worry. I'll speak to Professor Snape. You don't have to do the essay." Lupin said as Harry chose not to mention that he had been done with the thing. Hey, you try doing your homework while with Mayuri Kurotsuchi. The guy had dug through Harry's book and while Harry was doing the paper, Mayuri was adding data to his computer. The guy could get _really_ scary/creepy when it came to things he had yet to research or experiment on.

"Oh no…" Hermione said, looking very disappointed, "I've already finished it!"

They had a very enjoyable lesson. Professor Lupin had brought along a glass box containing a Hinkypunk, a little one-legged creature who looked as though he were made of wisps of smoke, rather frail and harmless looking.

"This little creature lures travelers into bogs." Professor Lupin said as they took notes, "You notice the lantern dangling from his hand? Well, while it hops ahead people follow the light. Then-"

The Hinkypunk made a horrible squelching noise against the glass.

When the bell rang, everyone gathered up their things and headed for the door, Harry among them, hoping to see Draco in the courtyard-

"Wait a moment, Harry." Lupin called out, "I'd like a word."

Harry sighed in annoyance as he doubled back and watched Professor Lupin covering the Hinkypunk's box with a cloth.

"I heard about the match." Lupin said, turning back to his desk and starting to pile books and papers into his briefcase, "I'm sorry about your broomstick. Is there any chance of fixing it?"

"No." Harry said in a deadpan tone, "The tree smashed it to bits."

Lupin sighed. Harry didn't want to seem difficult, but he didn't want to talk about the match or what happened in it with anyone really. Jushiro still wasn't up and about, Hachi was working in Jushiro's place, Soi Fon was keeping watching over him at all times, and Mayuri… well, Mayuri was Mayuri…

"They planted the Whomping Willow the same year that I arrived at Hogwarts, you know. People used to play a game, trying to get near enough to touch the trunk. In the end, a boy called Davey Gudgeon nearly lost an eye, and we were forbidden to go near it. No broomstick would have a chance." Lupin said, trying to make things seem light-hearted.

"Did you… Did you hear about the Dementors too?" Harry said with difficulty. To be honest, he had become increasingly curious over how Lupin had gotten rid of the first Dementor on the train. Having heard that Dumbledore repelled them as well made Harry all the more curious to know.

Lupin looked at him quickly… a bit too quickly.

"Yes… Yes I did. I don't think any of us have seen Professor Dumbledore that angry. They, the Dementors, have been growing restless for some time… furious at Dumbledore's refusal to let them inside the grounds… I suppose they were the reason you fell from your broom?" Lupin said as he finished packing the things away.

"Yes." Harry said before taking a deep breath. He'd final ask the question he had wanted to ask ever since the day on the train. And if Lupin wanted to be as comfortable with Harry as he seemed to want, then he'd get his answers, "W-Why? I mean, why do the Dementors affect me like that? Am I we-?"

"It has nothing to do with weakness, Harry." Professor Lupin said sharply, as though he had read Harry's mind ahead of time, "The Dementors affect you worse than the others because there are horrors in your past that the others don't have."

A ray of wintry sunlight fell across the classroom, illuminating Lupin's gray hairs and the lines on his young face.

"Dementors are among the foulest creatures that inhabit this earth. They infest the darkest, filthiest places. They glory in decay and despair. They drain peace, hope, and happiness out of the air around them. Even Muggles feel their presence, though they can't see them. Get too near a Dementor or they to you, you'll have every good feeling, every happy memory sucked out of you like a blackhole. If it can, the Dementor will feed on you long enough to reduce you to something like itself: soul-less and evil. You'll become a monster, just like them. You'll be left with nothing but the worst experiences of your life. And the worst that happened to you, Harry, is enough to make anyone fall off their broom. You have nothing to feel ashamed of."

"When they get near me-" Harry said, staring at Lupin's desk as his throat felt tight, "I can hear Voldemort murdering my mother."

Lupin made a sudden motion with his arm as though to grip Harry's shoulder, but thought better of it. There was a moment's silence, then —

"Why did they have to come to the match?" Harry said bitterly, his fists clenched at his sides. He felt the shadows behind him and Lupin lessen in their presence if only a bit, like they were saddened over something, but then they returned to normal. Soi Fon must have felt for him.

"They're getting hungry, Harry." Lupin said coolly, shutting his briefcase with a snap, "Dumbledore won't let them into the school, so their supply of human prey has dried up… I don't think they could resist the large crowd around the Quidditch field. All that excitement… emotions running high… it was their idea of a feast. Plus with your-" Lupin cut himself off, as if he was about to say too much before he snapped his lips together.

"Azkaban must be terrible…" Harry muttered, thinking of how Sirius Black must feel and why the man escaped if even to kill him. Lupin nodded grimly.

"The fortress is set on a tiny island, way out to sea, but they don't need walls and water to keep the prisoners in, not when they're all trapped inside their own heads, incapable of a single cheery thought. Most of them go mad within weeks." Lupin said with a small shudder that Harry noticed.

"But Sirius Black escaped from them." Harry said slowly, cautiously, "He got away-"

Lupin's briefcase slipped from the desk; he had to stoop quickly to catch it.

"Yes…" Lupin said, straightening up, "Black must have found a way to fight them. I wouldn't have believed it possible… Dementors are supposed to drain a wizard of his powers if he is left with them too long…"

"You made that Dementor on the train back off." Harry said suddenly, wanting to get to the point of why he was even still bothering with the conversation.

"There are… certain defenses one can use to ward off Dementors." Lupin said carefully. "But there was only one Dementor on the train. The more there are, the more difficult it becomes to defend against them."

"What defenses?" Harry said at once, more than just eager to learn of them, "Can you teach me?"

"I don't pretend to be an expert at fighting Dementors, Harry… quite the contrary…" Lupin said weakly.

"But if the Dementors come to another Quidditch match, I need to be able to fight them-"

Lupin looked into Harry's determined face, hesitated, then said, "Well… alright then. I'll try and help. But it'll have to wait until next term, I'm afraid. I have a lot to do before the holidays. I chose a very inconvenient time to fall ill."

* * *

><p>What with the promise of anti-Dementor lessons from Lupin, the thought that he might never have to hear his mother's death again, and the fact that Ravenclaw flattened Hufflepuff in their Quidditch match at the end of November, Harry's mood took a definite upturn. Gryffindor were not out of the running after all, although they could not afford to lose another match. Wood became repossessed of his manic energy, and worked his team as hard as ever in the chilly haze of rain that persisted into December. Harry saw no hint of a Dementor within the grounds. Dumbledore's anger seemed to be keeping them at their stations at the entrances.<p>

Jushiro had even begun to start feeling better, or at least that was what Harry had heard. There were always healers about, saying that the man couldn't have visitors. Soi Fon seemed worried, though she hid it well, and so were the others, even Mayuri (though like Soi Fon he hid his worries well). Hachi had nearly allowed him to visit the white-haired Soul Reaper, but a woman Harry would never forget had stopped his visit.

"C-Captain Unohana… What are y-you doing here?" Hachi had said in a mixture of shock, surprise…

… and some small amount of fright…

"I heard of Captain Ukitake's fall of illness, and came myself for the duration of it. I shall now be overseeing his medical relief." the woman said in one of the most gentle and peaceful voice Harry's ears had ever heard. She reminded him of what he had dreamed his mother to be like, a kind and elegant woman of grace unmatched. Her blue eyes glanced over him and he saw her smile increase ever so slightly.

"Who is this young man, Lieutenant? I don't believe he is apart of the squad sent for this mission." the woman said as she turned fully to Harry. Her long black hair tied in a loose ponytail over her front. Her gentle face that held no imperfection. She wore the same uniform as the others, though the long white coat she wore over the black robes told Harry she was not one to be trifled.

"This is Harry Potter, Captain Unohana. He has been a great help to us in this mission, telling us of anything he knows of the school and the Wizarding World. He has also been a great relief to many of us with his friendliness. Captain Ukitake and young Mayuri have taken a great liking to him, as well as young Soi Fon." Hachi said as Harry blushed under the introduction.

"Hello young Harry Potter. I am Captain Retsu Unohana, Captain of the Fourth Division or Squad Four as you might call it. I am in charge of all medical support and supply needs for the Soul Society. Thank you for your help in this mission." Captain Unohana said as Harry blushed even more. The woman was so soft-spoken, so warm and caring that Harry felt like he could cry in her arms and tell her of every burden the world had placed on him.

"It was nothing, really." Harry said, feeling the gentle woman's gaze upon him. Her warm blue eyes seemed to dance with her with her youthful appearance.

"If you don't mind. I'd like to speak with you after I've finished helping Captain Ukitake get better. Would that be alright with you?" Captain Unohana said as Harry couldn't find it in him to say no.

"Y-Yeah, it'd be great." Harry said, trying hard to keep himself composed as he watched the slender woman enter Jushiro's guarded room.

He had waited around for a few hours before she came back out, telling them that while Jushiro wasn't over the cold, he was sleeping much better now. She said that she'd be making a visit every month to check on the white-haired man. Then, she and Harry had a bit of lunch as they talked over Jushiro's health and her curiosity about him. She didn't ask him any questions about the school or even hint at anything dealing with the Soul Reapers mission. Harry couldn't figure her out. He wasn't sure if she even knew about Shunsui and Jushiro's offer toward him, but if she did she gave no sign to knowing. So, with some unease and restlessness, Harry enjoyed the company of Captain Unohana (as she wished to be addressed until they were more casual) while they ate and talked over subjects such as flower arrangements, tea ceremonies, and medicine.

* * *

><p>Two weeks before the end of the term, the sky lightened suddenly to a dazzling, opaline white and the muddy grounds were revealed one morning covered in glittering frost. Inside the castle, there was a buzz of Christmas in the air. Professor Flitwick, the Charms professor, had already decorated his classroom with shimmering lights that turned out to be real, fluttering fairies. The students were all happily discussing their plans for the holidays. Both Ron and Hermione had decided to remain at Hogwarts, and though Ron said it was because he couldn't stand two weeks with Percy, and Hermione insisted she needed to use the library, Harry wasn't fooled; they were doing it to keep him company, and he was very grateful even though he had planned to spend the holidays with the Soul Reapers. Harry was no fool now that he was actually thinking about the things and questioning the people around him; he knew they wanted to be sure he was safe from Sirius Black (or at least that was probably why Hermione was staying), so he humored them, all too glad to have his best friends no matter what the reason.<p>

To everyone's delight except Harry's, there was to be another Hogsmeade trip on the very last weekend of the term.

"We can do all our Christmas shopping there!" Hermione said excitedly, "Mum and Dad would really love those Toothflossing Stringmints from Honeydukes!"

Resigned to the fact that he would be the only third year staying behind… again, Harry borrowed a copy of _Which Broomstick_ from Wood, and decided to spend the day reading up on the different makes and models of broomsticks. He had been riding one of the school brooms at team practice, an ancient Shooting Star, which was very slow and jerky; he _definitely_ needed a new broom of his own.

On the Saturday morning of the Hogsmeade trip, Harry bid good-bye to Ron and Hermione, along with Draco and his gang, who were all wrapped in cloaks and scarves, before he turned up the marble staircase alone, and headed back toward Gryffindor Tower. Snow had started to fall outside the windows, and the castle was very still and quiet.

"Psst- Harry!" a voice whispered as Harry turned, halfway along the third-floor corridor, to see Fred and George peering out at him from behind a statue of a humpbacked, one-eyed witch.

"What are you doing?" Harry asked curiously, "How come you're not going to Hogsmeade?"

"We've come to give you a bit of festive cheer before we go." Fred said with a mysterious wink, "Come in here…" Fred said as he nodded toward an empty classroom to the left of the one-eyed statue. Harry followed Fred and George inside as George closed the door quietly behind them and then turned to look at Harry, beaming as if he were about to give Harry happiness incarnated (a word he learned, for once, on his own while reading!).

"Early Christmas present for you, Harry." George practically purred as Fred reached inside his cloak.

"Whoa! Whatever it is, I don't think I'm ready for it!" Harry said with wide eyes. He knew Fred and George and they were both somewhat pervs when they could get away with it, especially after they helped educate him on the "Owls and the Bees".

"Not that, Harrykins, you naughty boy. But if you want it…" Fred said, taking his hand from inside his robes to grab and hold of them and slowly pulled it off his shoulder sexily.

"No thank you. Besides, I don't think Draco would approve of me having sexual interactions without him being the first." Harry said as Fred and George gave sad looks.

"Pity." the two twins said, and almost sounded the part as Fred reached back into his cloak and pulled something from inside it with a flourish before he laid it on one of the desks. It was a large, square, very worn piece of parchment with nothing written on it. Harry, suspecting one of Fred and George's jokes, stared at it with a deadpan expression.

"What's this supposed to be?" Harry said off-handedly as he gestured to the paper.

"This, Harry, is the secret of our success." George said, patting and purring at the parchment fondly. Harry only raised a brow as Fred nudged him.

"It's a wrench, giving it to you, Harrykins." Fred said, "But… we decided last night, that your need's are greater than ours. Especially since we couldn't help with the last incident."

"Anyway, we know it by heart." George said, trying to preserve their pride as mischief-makers, "We bequeath it to you. We don't really need it anymore."

"And… what do I need with a bit of old parchment?" Harry said, narrowing his eyes at the parchment on the desk. He didn't know why, but he could feel something- an energy of sorts- wafting off the paper.

"A bit of old parchment!" Fred said incredulously, closing his eyes with a grimace as though Harry had mortally offended him, "George, please explain. I feel weak."

"Well… when we were in our first year, Harry. Young, carefree, and innocent-"

Harry snorted, "I doubt the two of you had ever been very innocent."

"Oh Harrykins, you _wound_ us. We had our innocence at one time, but we gave it up… to each other."

"… Why do I feel like you just made a really dirty incest joke…?"

"_Did I_? I didn't notice. Oh, Harrykins, you're so naughty; thinking that way."

"Anyways, about your innocence." Harry said as George grinned.

" Well, back when we were _more_ innocent than we are now, we got into a spot of bother with Filch." George said as Fred nodded with a shrug.

"We let off a Dungbomb in the corridor and it upset him for some reason-"

"So he hauled us off to his office and started threatening us with the usual-"

"— detention —"

"— disembowelment —"

"The usual." Harry said with a roll of his eyes as the twins nodded.

"And we couldn't help noticing a drawer in one of his filing cabinets marked Confiscated and Highly Dangerous."

"Don't tell me-" Harry said, starting to grin.

"Well, what would you've done?" Fred said, already grinning up a storm, "George caused a diversion by dropping another Dungbomb, I whipped the drawer open, and grabbed; this beauty."

"It's not as bad as it sounds, you know." George said with a vague hand gesture, "We don't reckon Filch ever found out how to work it. He probably suspected what it was, though, or he wouldn't have confiscated it."

"And you know how to work it?" Harry said, growing still a bit uneasy about the what he felt wafting off the parchment.

"Oh yes." Fred said, trying to smirk coolly, "This little beauty's taught us more than all the teachers in this school."

"You're winding me up." Harry said, looking at the ragged old bit of parchment. It sounded great already and they had yet to tell him what it was or how it worked. Even with the uneasy feeling he caught from the thing, he couldn't deny that if Fred and George had it, then it couldn't be too dangerous; especially after four years.

"Oh, _are_ we?" George purred as Harry blushed, not having noticed his choice of words until then.

Fred and George merely grinned as George took out his wand, touched the parchment lightly before saying , "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good."

And at once, thin ink lines began to spread like a spider's web from the point that George's wand had touched. They joined each other, they crisscrossed, they fanned into every corner of the parchment; then words began to blossom across the top, great, curly green words, that proclaimed:

_**Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs**_

_**Purveyors of Aids to Magical Mischief-Makers are proud to present**_

_**THE MARAUDER'S MAP**_

It was a map showing every detail of the Hogwarts castle and grounds. But the truly remarkable thing were the tiny ink dots moving around it, each labeled with a name in minuscule writing.

Astounded, Harry bent over it. A labeled dot in the top left corner showed that Professor Dumbledore was pacing his study; the caretaker's cat, Mrs. Norris, was prowling the second floor; and Peeves the Poltergeist was currently bouncing around the trophy room. And as Harry's eyes traveled up and down the familiar corridors, he noticed something else.

This map showed a set of passages he had never entered. And many of them seemed to led-

"Right into Hogsmeade." Fred said, tracing one of the many passages with his finger before trailing the digit up Harry's arm to his nose, "There are seven in all. Now, Filch knows about these four." Fred said, pointing them out, "But, we're sure we're the only ones who know about these last three. Don't bother with the one behind the mirror on the fourth floor. We used it until last winter, but it's caved in; completely blocked."

"And we don't reckon anyone's ever used this one, because the Whomping Willow's planted right over the entrance." George said as he tapped over one of the passages.

"But this one here, this one leads right into the cellar of Honeydukes. We've used it loads of times. And as you might've noticed, the entrance is right outside this room, through that one-eyed old crone's hump." Fred said as he and George were on either side of Harry, draping themselves over him like high-class trophy-girls that appeared along with stars.

"Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs…" George sighed out, patting the heading of the map, "We owe them _so_ much."

"Noble men, working tirelessly to help a new generation of lawbreakers." Fred said solemnly with the arm that wasn't wrapped around Harry's neck along with George's and placed the appendage over his heart.

"Right, then." George said briskly, "Just don't forget to wipe it after you've used it-"

"- or else anyone can read it." Fred said warningly, his eyes more serious than Harry had seen them.

"Just tap it again and say, "Mischief managed!" And it'll go blank. It's fun for the whole family." George said as Harry gave him a deadpan look.

"Like the Jiggle-o-meter from last month?" Harry asked as the two twins shrugged.

"Hey, the bouncier the boobies, the stronger the reading. It's not our fault almost all the girls here were only so endowed." Fred said as George nodded.

"Though I had thought Draco to be at least an average on the scale. Blondie's boobies-"

"Are mine. Now moving on." Harry said as the two brothers exchanged looks before shrugging.

"So, young Harry." Fred said in an uncanny impersonation of Percy, "Mind that you behave yourself."

"Yeah. See you in Honeydukes." George said, winking as he and his twin left the room while both were smirking in satisfaction.

* * *

><p>Harry stood there, gazing at the miraculous map that had just been bequeathed to him. He looked down at it, more intently than before as he watched the tiny ink Mrs. Norris turn left and pause to sniff at something on the floor. If Filch really didn't know… he wouldn't have to pass the Dementors at all…<p>

Then, something caught Harry's eye. It was like faded ink inside of less faded ink. He had to wipe at his eyes just to be sure he was truly seeing what he was. It was the name of Jushiro Ukitake, and the man's dot was inside where the other Soul Reapers were. He also saw Hachi and Mayuri's names, but he was puzzled as to why he didn't see any others. He looked to where he was, and sure enough, right outside the room his own tiny ink preoccupied was the name of Soi Fon.

"Or _Shaolin_ Fon… Huh? Hmm, she must have changed her name or something… I wonder why…" Harry said, growing more and more interested in the map.

But even as he stood there, flooded with excitement, something Harry had once heard Mr. Weasley say came floating out of his memory.

"_Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can't see where it keeps its brain_." Mr. Weasley had said as Harry narrowed his eyes at the map, his forgotten feeling of unease returning.

This map was one of those dangerous magical objects Mr. Weasley had been warning him against… Aids for Magical Mischief Makers… but then, Harry reasoned, he only wanted to use it to get into Hogsmeade, it wasn't as though he wanted to steal anything or attack anyone… and Fred and George had been using it for years without anything horrible happening…

It was then Harry decided that, should an attack come, he'd use the map to get himself and others out of harms way. He sighed, choosing to use that as his excuse if (and when, Harry thought with less cheer) he got caught with the map and it was taken from him.

Harry sighed once more as he traced the secret passage to Honeydukes with his finger.

Then, quite suddenly, as though following orders, he rolled up the map, stuffed it inside his robes, and hurried to the door of the classroom. He opened it a couple of inches. There was no one outside. Very carefully, he edged out of the room and behind the statue of the one-eyed witch.

What did he have to do? He pulled out the map again and saw to his astonishment, that a new ink figure had appeared upon it, labeled 'Harry Potter'. This figure was standing exactly where the real Harry was standing, about halfway down the third-floor corridor. Harry watched carefully. His little Ink-self appeared to be tapping the witch with his mini-ink wand. Harry quickly took out his real wand and tapped the statue. Nothing happened. He looked back at the map. The tiniest speech bubble had appeared next to his figure. The word inside said, 'Dissendium.'

"_**Dissendium**_!" Harry whispered, tapping the stone witch again. Then, at once, the statue's hump opened wide enough to admit an average-size teenaged person. Harry glanced quickly up and down the corridor, tucking the map away again before he hoisted himself into the hole headfirst, and pushed himself forward.

He slid a considerable way down what felt like a stone slide, then landed on cold, damp earth. He stood up, looking around into pitch black darkness. Harry sighed in annoyance as he held up his wand and muttered, "_**Lumos**_!". Once his eyes adjusted to the bright light his wand was giving off, he saw that he was inside a very narrow, low, earthy passageway. Harry raised the map up before tapping at it with the tip of his wand, and muttered a "_**Mischief managed**_!". The map went blank at once as Harry folded it carefully, tucking it inside his robes before he set off, his heart beating fast with both excitement and apprehensive.

The passage twisted and turned, more like the burrow of a giant rabbit than anything else. Harry hurried along it, stumbling every now and then on the uneven floor while he held his wand out in front of him to light his way.

It took ages, but Harry had thoughts of Honeydukes to sustain him as he trekked onward. After what felt like an hour, the passage began to rise. Panting, Harry sped up, his face hot and his feet very cold.

Ten minutes later, Harry came to the foot of some worn stone steps, which rose out of sight above him. Careful not to make any noise, Harry began to climb. A hundred steps, two hundred steps, he lost count as he climbed, watching his feet… then, without warning, his head hit something _hard_.

It seemed to be a trapdoor, Harry surmised as he stood there, massaging the top of his now hurting head while listening for whatever could be on the other side of said trapdoor. He couldn't hear any sounds above him, so very slowly, Harry pushed the trapdoor open and peered over the edge. Harry found himself in a cellar, which was filled with wooden crates and boxes of all different sizes.

Cautiously, Harry climbed out of the trapdoor and closed it, it blending so perfectly with the dusty floor that it was impossible to tell it was there. Harry crept slowly toward the wooden staircase that led upstairs where he could definitely hear voices; not to mention the tinkle of a bell and the opening and shutting of a door.

Before he could ponder his next step, Harry spun on heel as he felt a familiar presence come through the wall. It was Soi Fon, as she fazed through the above floor with great difficulty. She seemed cold in her ninja attire, yet her face was red and sweat dripped from her brow.

"I… I finally… found you… Potter…" Soi Fon breathed out, trying hard to regain both her breath and her composure. She straightened herself up after a deep breath, and then, with speed Harry had never seen, fixed her appearance as if she had done it by magic. There before him stood the normal Soi Fon, cool and composed as she gave him an impassive look.

"How did you find? How did you _lose_ me?" Harry asked in shock. He had figured Soi Fon didn't follow him when he had stopped feeling her presence after going through the one-eyed witch's hump, but still…

"After you leapt into that statue, your spiritual pressure completely disappeared from not only my senses, but Mayuri's computer tracking device. It wasn't until now that I sensed you, and I got here as soon as I could. We all thought… I thought…" Soi Fon, trailing off as Harry surmised what they must have thought happened to him. However, it was the look of horror and fright that passed through Soi Fon's eyes that made him not only want to smile, but re-think his views on Soi Fon. Maybe, she like the Slytherins, didn't show her feelings to just anyone, but kept them for very private moments and to herself, showing them through her not her words or actions, but in her eyes and heart.

"I'm sorry if I worried you guys, Soi Fon. I didn't mean to." Harry said as he touched her arm, wanting to hug her as she tensed. He dropped his hand as they stood in silence for a few moments.

"That passage way. It blocks out spiritual pressure. It's dangerous, especially if there are more of them. It maybe how this Sirius Black entered the school's grounds without anyone's knowledge." Soi Fon said, her cool and impassive gaze sweeping over him in a subtle way to be sure he was unharmed.

"I'm fine, Soi Fon." Harry said with mirth as he noticed the way her gaze scanned him. It was the same way Draco or Hermione would look at him, and even Mrs. Weasley, Madam Pomfrey, and Professor McGonagall had used the tactic on him a few times.

"Whatever." Soi Fon said as she crossed her arms over her petite frame and turned from Harry.

"Soi Fon… Or should I call you-" Harry cut himself off quickly as he saw the way Soi Fon's eyes cut toward him in an instant.

"W-What were you saying?" Soi Fon asked, her voice showing only the slightest bit of panic and her eyes slightly widened. Was he about to call her…? No, that wasn't even possible. There was no way he could know about _that_. It had been thirty years since she went by _that_ name.

"Nothing. We'll talk another day. It's that I found this-" Harry said, not getting to finish his explanation as they suddenly heard a door open much than the one Harry had been hearing before. That could mean only one thing; somebody was about to come downstairs.

"And get another box of Jelly Slugs, dear, they've nearly cleaned us out —" said a woman's voice as a male's grunted while a pair of feet was coming down the staircase. Harry leapt behind an enormous crate and waited for the footsteps to pass while Soi Fon stood where she was, as clear as day. Before Harry could tell her to hide, the man he heard grunt walked right passed her, and began shifting through boxes against the opposite wall. He might not get another chance, so quickly and silently, Harry dodged out from his hiding place and climbed the stairs; looking back, he saw an enormous backside and shiny bald head, buried in a box. Harry reached the door at the top of the stairs, and slipped through it, finding himself behind the counter of Honeydukes. Harry swore lowly under his breath as he ducked, crept sideways, and then straightened up.

"You should have brought your cloak, it would have been much easier that way." a voice whispered harshly in his ear as Harry turned to it. It was Soi Fon, standing there as if she was the most naturally thing in her all black Japanese ninja attire, "Though I have to admit that, for a human, your skills at stealth are rather good."

"Thanks." Harry muttered as he focused on the task at hand; which was sneaking about the crowded store of Honeydukes.

* * *

><p>Honeydukes was so crowded with Hogwarts students, that no one looked twice at Harry. He edged among them, looking around, and suppressed a laugh as he imagined the look that would spread over Dudley's piggy face if he could see where Harry was now.<p>

There were shelves upon shelves of the most succulent-looking sweets imaginable. Creamy chunks of nougat, shimmering pink squares of coconut ice, fat, honey-colored toffees; hundreds of different kinds of chocolate in neat rows; there was a large barrel of Every Flavor Beans, and another of Fizzing Whizbees, the levitating sherbet balls that Ron had mentioned; along yet another wall were 'Special Effects' — sweets: Droobles Best Blowing Gum (which filled a room with bluebell-colored bubbles that refused to pop for days), the strange, splintery Toothflossing Stringmints, tiny black Pepper Imps ('breathe fire for your friends!'), Ice Mice ('hear your teeth chatter and squeak!'), peppermint creams shaped like toads ('hop realistically in the stomach!'), fragile sugar-spun quills, and exploding bonbons.

Harry squeezed himself through a crowd of sixth years and saw a sign hanging in the farthest corner of the shop (UNUSUAL TASTES). Ron and Hermione were standing underneath it, examining a tray of blood-flavored lollipops. Harry sneaked up behind them.

"Going to give your little friends a scare?" Soi Fon asked, her voice not lowered at all as people simply walked through her.

"How are you doing that?" Harry asked as Soi Fon gained a cocky and superior smirk.

"It's rather easy to do, but tedious and costs a lot of energy. It's even harder to do to solid structures, like buildings and trees. Don't know why, but it just is." Soi Fon said as Harry shook his head.

"Yeah, I'm give 'em a spook." Harry said as Soi Fon grinned, both leaning forward to listen-in on Hermione and Ron.

"Ugh, no, Harry won't want one of those, they're for vampires, I suspect." Hermione was saying as Ron shrugged and grabbed another candy.

"How about these?" Ron asked, shoving a jar of Cockroach Clusters under Hermione's nose. Even Soi Fon, why was looking at the jar in disgust, shook her head with a small ghost of a smile.

"Hmm… maybe, but definitely not." Harry said nonchalantly as he leaned between Ron and Hermione.

Ron nearly dropped the jar while Hermione was wide-eyed and gaping.

"Their facial expressions are hysterical." Soi Fon said, chuckling quietly behind her hand.

"Harry!" Hermione squealed in surprise and shock, "What are you doing here? H-How did you-"

"Wow!" Ron said, looking very impressed, "You've learned to Apparate!"

"Of course I haven't." Harry said before he dropped his voice so that none of the others could hear him as he told Ron, Hermione, and Soi Fon (who was seen by none but him) all about the Marauder's Map.

"How come Fred and George never gave it to me!" Ron said in outrage, "I'm their brother!"

"But Harry isn't going to keep it!" Hermione said, as though the idea were ludicrous, "He's going to hand it in to Professor McGonagall, aren't you, Harry?"

"No, I'm not." Harry said, as though _her_ idea were ludicrous. Harry glanced at Soi Fon, who had her eyes narrowed and arms crossed over her chest as she gave him a stern look. He supposed that when they were in more private settings, Soi Fon would be, as some of the older crowd had once put it, "effectively tearing him a new one".

"Are you mad, Hermione?" Ron said, goggling at Hermione as though she really were, "Hand in something that good? You must be daft!"

"If I hand it in, I'll have to say where I got it! Filch would know Fred and George had nicked it! That would get them in trouble!" Harry defended, his voice firm as even if the thought to turn it in was an affront to his honor as Fred and George's friend.

"But what about Sirius Black?" Hermione hissed out, "He could be using one of the passages on that map to get into the castle! The teachers have got to know!"

"He can't be getting in through a passage." Harry said quickly, "There are seven secret tunnels _on_ the map, right? Fred and George reckon Filch already knows about four of them. And of the other three; one of them's caved in, so no one can get through it. Another of them has got the Whomping Willow planted over the entrance, so you can't get out of it. And the one I just came through… well… It's really hard to see the entrance to it down in the cellar… so unless he knew it was there…"

Harry hesitated, trailing off as a thought hit him. What if Black did know about the passage that was there? Ron, however, cleared his throat significantly and importantly (just like his brother, Percy), and pointed to a notice pasted on the inside of the sweetshop door.

_**BY ORDER OF THE MINISTRY OF MAGIC**_

_**Customers are reminded that until further notice, Dementors will be patrolling the streets of Hogsmeade every night after sundown. This measure has been put in place for the safety of Hogsmeade residents and will be lifted upon the recapture of Sirius Black. It is therefore advisable that you complete your shopping well before nightfall.**_

_**Happy Christmas!**_

"See?" Ron said quietly, "I'd like to see Black try and break into Honeydukes with Dementors swarming all over the village. Anyway, Hermione, the Honeydukes owners would hear a break-in, wouldn't they? They live right over the shop!"

"Yes, but… but… " Heroine seemed to be struggling to find another problem.

"She seems rather set on making you give that map of yours up, Potter." Soi Fon said neutrally. Harry hoped that she wouldn't make him give it up too, because if she told Jushiro or even Mayuri, Harry would be rather hard-pressed to refuse them as their whole being at Hogwarts was to protect him and others from the Dementors and Sirius Black.

"Look, Harry still shouldn't be coming into Hogsmeade. He hasn't got a signed form! If anyone finds out, he'll be in so much trouble! And it's not nightfall yet. What if Sirius Black turns up today? Now even?"

Harry, Ron, and even Soi Fon merely stared at Hermione with deadpan expressions.

"You really don't like to admit that you're wrong, or when you've lost." Harry teased in a deadpan tone as Hermione simply stuck her tongue out at him while Ron and Soi Fon chuckled.

"No, it's that I'm worried over you, fat-head." Hermione said with a sigh.

"Listen, 'Mione. Black would have a job spotting Harry in all… this." Ron said, nodding and gesturing through the mullioned windows at the thick, swirling snow, "Come on, Hermione, it's Christmas. Harry deserves a break; a little fun at least once."

Hermione bit her lip, looking extremely worried. Harry, however, felt a bit light-hearted and extremely happy that his friends were worried over him. It made him feel like he actually mattered.

"Are you going to report me, 'Mione?" Harry asked her, grinning while he teased her with the nickname she hated.

"Oh of course not, but if you say that nickname again I'll… Oh Harry, honestly."

"You always go easy on him." Ron huffed mockingly with a pout and crossed arms. Harry chuckled at just how child-like his friend could look as he puffed out his cheeks.

"That's because I like him more." Hermione said smiling evilly at Ron, who scoffed as he dropped his childish act.

"No, it because he's not as fun when he's angry. Harry gets scary when he's mad, but Lavender told me I was hot when I'm riled up." Ron said as he smiled back.

"There's that too… and stay away from Lavender Brown. I don't think she's got all her marbles…" Hermione said as she poked a finger in Ron's chest repeatedly to make her point.

* * *

><p>"You're friends are amusing." Soi Fon said casually as Harry shrugged, stepping back to talk to the young ninja Soul Reaper.<p>

"Yeah, but what do you say about all this?" Harry asked, as he glanced her way.

"I'll reserve my judgment and my report until I see anything bad come of this. That map, when checked at certain times a day, could be a great asset to you and your safety." Soi Fon said coolly as Harry smiled. He knew Soi Fon was normally a strict and rigid person who followed rules to the tee, but he felt so special that she would bend the rules for him this once.

"Thanks, Soi Fon. You're the best." Harry said as Soi Fon's cheeks turned a tint of pink.

"S-Shut up… Yoruichi-sama is the best…" Soi Fon said as Harry blinked.

"Sama…?" Harry questioned as Soi Fon scoffed, resuming her cool and impassive composure.

"Sama is an honorific given to those of higher, normally much higher, ranking than another. It can also be used for those you have great admiration or worship of. In English it would Lady, Lord, or something to that effect. Sorry, I sometimes slip back into my earlier years of Japanese upbringing… before I became Lady Yoruichi's student and bodyguard." Soi Fon said as Harry stayed quiet. He could tell that Soi Fon was showing him a side of her that she probably normally wouldn't; a side that was vulnerable and raw… a side that only few close to her heart got to see.

"Seen the Fizzing Whizbees, Harry?" Ron said, brining Harry out of his thought as Ron grabbed him and led him over to a large barrel, "And the Jelly Slugs? And the Acid Pops? Fred gave me one of those when I was seven — it burnt a hole right through my tongue. I remember Mum walloping him with her broomstick." Ron said, staring broodingly into the Acid Pop box, "Hey… Reckon Fred would take a bite of Cockroach Cluster if I told him they were peanuts?"

When Ron and Hermione had paid for all their sweets, the three of them left Honeydukes for the blizzard outside with Soi Fon trailing behind Harry at a respectful three steps back and one to the side (as she told him was per custom of the Soul Society for a bodyguard or "shadow" as she liked to be called).

Hogsmeade looked like a Christmas card; the little thatched cottages and shops were all covered in a layer of crisp snow; there were holly wreaths on the doors and strings of enchanted candles hanging in the trees.

"Winter really is quite lovely during that time of year." Soi Fon said, gazing around at the town in as much wonder as Harry was.

"You don't have winter in Soul Society?" Harry said, barely hearing even himself, but he knew Soi Fon could pick up on his words.

"Yeah, we do, but it's always the same every year. In Soul Society, the seasons are like a video that stays in loop. This new scenery… It's just breath-taking." Soi Fon said, before she cleared her throat lightly and moved back, Harry only then realizing that she had moved up beside him.

"Come up here, Soi Fon. No one can see you. Plus, it'd be better to protect and watch me if you weren't so far away." Harry said, appealing to the girl's sense of duty and loyalty. He had a feeling that however this Yo-person was (as Harry couldn't pronounce the name from just hearing it twice when Soi Fon had said it so lowly) had to be a complete opposite of Soi Fon to have kept the girl from being even more cold and rigid.

* * *

><p>Yoruichi sneezed, making Kisuke jump and knock over his ink bottle which spilled all over their paperwork. Kisuke's eye twitched as Yoruichi blinked cutely.<p>

"Oops…" was all Yoruichi said as Kisuke sighed.

There was only one thing to do at a time like this.

"Hiyori! Can you come in here for a moment!" Kisuke called as Yoruichi thought him insane.

To call _her_ in for something like their paperwork. Kisuke was either a genius, or _truly_ insane.

And calling for _Hiyori_… well, that made Yoruichi lean more toward the latter…

* * *

><p>Harry shivered, because, unlike his two friends, he didn't have his cloak. They had headed up the street, heads bowed against the wind while Ron and Hermione were shouting through their scarves. Soi Fon seemed to be just find in the cold weather, walking close to him as if it were any normal sunny day.<p>

To bad for Harry was that Soi Fon had long since learned to not only warm herself with her own spiritual energy, but also with Kido as well.

"That's the post office —"

"Zonko's is up there —"

"We could go up to the Shrieking Shack —"

"Tell you what." Ron said, his teeth chattering, "Why don't we go there. Shall we go for a butterbeer in the Three Broomsticks?"

Harry was more than willing; the wind was fierce and his hands were freezing, so they crossed the road, and in a few minutes were entering the tiny inn. It was extremely crowded, noisy, warm, and smoky. A curvy sort of woman with a pretty face was serving a bunch of rowdy warlocks up at the bar.

"That's Madam Rosmerta." Ron said as his voice when a bit high, "I'll get the drinks, shall I?" Ron added, going slightly red.

"I think someone have a crush." Soi Fon teased, before realizing what she had done.

"Oh? How do you know that?" Harry asked curiously.

"I've seen the type." Soi Fon said, trying hard not to grow comfortable around Harry, but found his genuine and honest personality coupled with his fierce loyalty and friendliness.

Harry only shrugged as he and Hermione made their way to the back of the room, where there was a small, vacant table between the window and a handsome Christmas tree, which stood next to the fireplace. Soi Fon took up a protectoral stance just behind Harry's seat when Ron came back five minutes later, carrying three foaming tankards of hot butterbeer.

"Happy Christmas!" Ron said happily, raising his tankard.

Harry and his friends toasted the holiday off as he drank deeply from his mug. It was the most delicious thing he'd ever tasted and seemed to heat every bit of him from the inside.

"This is amazing!" Harry said, looking as though he were gazing out the window as he looked up at Soi Fon.

Soi Fon raised a brow at his child-like wonder while he subtly moved the mug for her to try some. She didn't want to be rude, knowing how easily one could offend another's culture, so she bent down and sipped at the drink while Harry appeared to have spilt it. His friends didn't even notice as they were talking at length about the holiday. Soi Fon rose back to full height with a warm feeling spreading throughout her body. It was like drinking liquid joy. It was sweet, yet held a flavor to it like nothing see had ever experienced.

"That is amazing…" Soi Fon muttered as she subconsciously licked at her lips, savoring the taste on her tongue as she swore to force Kisuke Urahara to give her money and a Gigai so she could experience the… what was it called, butterbeer? Yeah, the butterbeer! So she could drink the butterbeer again.

"And just think." Harry whispered as he glanced at his friends with a smile, "There are so many other things like this and better in the Wizarding and Muggle World. The Human World is filled with great stuff that you guys in Soul Society probably don't have."

"Probably…" Soi Fon said as a sudden breeze ruffled Harry's hair. The door of the Three Broomsticks had opened again as Harry looked over the rim of his beer mug

… and choked.

He had choked, because just then Professors McGonagall and Flitwick had entered the pub with a flurry of snowflakes, shortly followed by Hagrid, who was deep in conversation with a portly man in a lime-green bowler hat and a pinstriped cloak.

That man was Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic.

In an instant before Harry or even Soi Fon could react, Ron and Hermione, with speeds unknown, had both placed hands on the top of Harry's head and forced him off his stool and under the table. Dripping with butterbeer and crouching out of sight, Harry clutched his empty tankard and watched the teachers' and Fudge's feet move toward the bar, pause, then turn and walk right toward him.

Somewhere above him, Hermione whispered, "_**Mobiliarbus**_!"

The Christmas tree beside their table rose a few inches off the ground, drifted sideways, and landed with a soft thump right in front of their table, hiding them from view.

"Good thinking, girl." Harry heard Soi Fon mutter. He looked around to find her, but he couldn't see her. However, he could still feel her presence near him, but didn't have the time nor the mind to find her if she was hiding as well.

Staring through the dense lower branches, Harry saw four sets of chair legs move back from the table right beside theirs, then heard the grunts and sighs of the teachers and minister as they sat down.

Next he saw another pair of feet, wearing sparkly turquoise high heels, and heard a woman's voice.

"A small gillywater —"

"That would be mine, dearie." said Professor McGonagall's voice.

"Four pints of mulled mead —"

"Ta, Rosmerta." said Hagrid's gruff voice.

"A cherry syrup and soda with ice and umbrella —"

"Mmm!" said Professor Flitwick, smacking his lips. Harry only raised a brow, not truly have taken his tiny Charms professor as one to enjoy sweets; especially not Muggle ones.

"So you'll be the red currant rum, Minister."

"Thank you, Rosmerta, m'dear." said Fudge's voice, "Lovely to see you again, I must say. Have one yourself, won't you? Come and join us…"

"Well, thank you very much, Minister."

Harry watched the glittering heels march away and back again. His heart was pounding uncomfortably in his throat. He cursed himself for not thinking before in his haste. Why hadn't it occurred to him that this was the last weekend of term for the teachers too? And how long were they going to sit there? He needed time to sneak back into Honeydukes if he wanted to return to school tonight…

Hermione's leg gave a nervous twitch next to him.

"So… what brings you to this neck of the woods, Minister?" came Madam Rosmerta's voice.

Harry saw the lower part of Fudge's thick body twist in his chair as though he were checking for eavesdroppers.

Then Fudge said, in a quiet voice, "What else, m'dear, but Sirius Black? I daresay you heard what happened up at the school at Halloween?"

"I did hear a rumor, or two…" came Madam Rosmerta's honest reply.

"Did you tell the whole pub, Hagrid?" Professor McGonagall said exasperatedly.

"Do you think Black's still in the area, Minister?" Madam Rosmerta whispered.

"I'm sure of it." Fudge said shortly.

"You know that the Dementors have searched the _whole_ village…? _Twice_?" Madam Rosmerta said with a slight edge in her voice, "They damn near scared all my customers away… It's very bad for business, Minister."

"Rosmerta… dear, I don't like them any more than you do." Fudge said uncomfortably, "They're a necessary precaution… unfortunate, but there you are… I've just met some of them. They're in a fury against Dumbledore. He won't let them inside the castle grounds."

"I should think not." Professor McGonagall said sharply as Harry could feel a slight rise in her presence, but just as quickly as it came it was gone, "How are we supposed to teach with those… horrors floating around?"

"Hear, hear!" the tiny Professor Flitwick squeaked, his feet dangling a foot from the ground, which amused Harry greatly despite himself.

"All the same…" Fudge demurred, "They _are_ here to _protect_ you all from something much worse…We all know what Black's capable of, yes?"

"Do you know, I still have trouble believing it." Madam Rosmerta said thoughtfully, "Of all the people to go over to the Dark Side, Sirius Black was the last I'd have thought… I mean, I remember him when he was a boy at Hogwarts. If you'd told me then what he was going to become, I'd have said you'd had too much mead."

"You don't know the half of it, Rosmerta." Fudge said in an unusually gruff tone of voice, as though he was about to make a believer out of her, "The worst he did isn't widely known."

"The worst?" Madam Rosmerta asked, her voice alive with curiosity, "Worse than murdering all those poor people, you mean?"

"I certainly do." Fudge said mysteriously as Harry saw Madam Rosmerta's legs move back as she must have leaned forward.

"I can't believe that. What could possibly be worse?"

"You say you remember him at Hogwarts, Rosmerta?" murmured Professor McGonagall in a quiet tone that she always used when pained by a memory or even a bad thought. Harry could just imagine her, seating there with her eyes closed as she tried to separate her emotions from the situation, "Do you remember who his best friend was?"

"Naturally!" Madam Rosmerta said with a small laugh, "Never saw one without the other, did you? The number of times I had them in here. Oh, they used to make me laugh. Quite the double act, Sirius Black and James Potter!"

Harry dropped his tankard with a loud clunk as his eyes widened and his mouth fell agape. Ron kicked him.

"Precisely…" Professor McGonagall said in that same saddened tone, "Black and Potter. Ringleaders of their little gang. Both very bright, of course… _exceptionally_ bright, in fact… but I don't think we've ever had such a pair of troublemakers…"

"I dunno…" Hagrid said with a chuckle, "Fred and George Weasley could give 'em a run fer their money."

"You'd have thought Black and Potter were brothers!" Professor Flitwick chimed in with a laugh of his own, "Inseparable, they were!"

"Of course they were." Fudge said, "Potter trusted Black beyond all his other friends. Nothing changed when they left school. Black was best man when James married Lily. Then they named him godfather to Harry Potter. Young Harry has no idea, of course. You can imagine how the idea would torment him."

"Because Black turned out to be in league with You-Know-Who?" Madam Rosmerta whispered as she must have leaned forward even further.

"Worse even than that, m'dear…" Fudge said, dropping his voice and proceeded in a sort of low rumble, "Not many people are aware this, but the Potters knew that You-Know-Who was after them. Dumbledore, who was of course working tirelessly against You-Know-Who, had a number of useful spies. One of them tipped him off, and he alerted James and Lily at once. He advised them to go into hiding. Well, of course, You-Know-Who wasn't an easy person to hide from. Dumbledore told them that their best chance was the Fidelius Charm."

"How does that work?" Madam Rosmerta asked, breathless with interest as Professor Flitwick cleared his throat.

"An immensely complex spell, I might say, having performed it only twice myself." Professor Flitwick said squeakily, "The charm involves the magical concealment of a secret inside a single, living soul. The information is hidden inside the chosen person, or Secret-Keeper, and is henceforth impossible to find… Unless, of course, the Secret-Keeper chooses to divulge it. As long as the Secret-Keeper refused to speak, You-Know-Who could search the village where Lily and James were staying for years and never find them, not even if he had his nose pressed against their sitting room window!"

"So Black was the Potters' Secret-Keeper?" Madam Rosmerta whispered like a child hearing a ghost story.

"Naturally," said Professor McGonagall, "James Potter told Dumbledore that Black would die rather than tell where they were, that Black was planning to go into hiding himself… and yet, Dumbledore remained worried. I remember him offering to be the Potters' Secret-Keeper himself."

"He suspected Black?" Madam Rosmerta gasped as Harry heard his heartbeat in ears. Would they get to the point already!

"He was sure that _somebody_ close to the Potters had been keeping You-Know-Who informed of their movements." Professor McGonagall darkly said, "Indeed, he had suspected for some time that someone on our side had turned traitor and was passing a lot of information to You-Know-Who."

"But James Potter insisted on using Black?"

"He did." Fudge said heavily, "And then, barely a week after the Fidelius Charm had been performed-"

"Black betrayed them?" Madam Rosmerta breathed out as Harry felt his stomach drop.

"He did indeed. Black must have been tired of his double-agent role, he was ready to declare his support openly for You-Know-Who, and he seemed to have planned this for the moment of the Potters' death. But, as we all know, You-Know-Who met his downfall in little Harry Potter. Powers gone, horribly weakened, he fled. And this left Black in a very nasty position indeed. His master had fallen at the very moment when he, Black, had shown his true colors as a traitor. He had no choice but to run for it-"

"Filthy, stinkin' turncoat!" Hagrid said, so loudly that half the bar went quiet. Harry felt a hand on his shoulder, though when he turned to the right, he saw no one there.

"Shh!" Professor McGonagall hissed.

"I met him!" Hagrid growled in a lower tone, "I musta bin the last ter see him before he killed all them people! It was me what rescued Harry from Lily an' James's house after they was killed! Jus' got him outta the ruins, poor little thing, with a great slash across his forehead, an' his parents dead… an' Sirius Black turns up, on that flyin' motorbike he used ter ride. Never occurred ter me what he was doin' there. I didn' know he'd bin Lily an' James's Secret-Keeper. Thought he'd jus' heard the news o' You-Know-Who's attack an' come ter see what he could do. White an' shakin', he was. An' yeh know what I did? I _COMFORTED_ THE MURDERIN' TRAITOR!" Hagrid roared mightly with his fury exposed for all to see. Harry could fell a very faint pressure coming from Hagrid's driection, though it wasn't nearly as strong as Dumbledore's had been or as when Professor McGonagall had lost that brief second of control.

"Hagrid, please! Professor McGonagall said, "Keep your voice down!"

"How was I ter know he wasn' upset abou' Lily an' James? It was You-Know-Who he cared abou'! An' then he says, 'Give Harry ter me, Hagrid, I'm his godfather, I'll look after him —' Ha! But I'd had me orders from Dumbledore, an' I told Black no, Dumbledore said Harry was ter go ter his aunt an' uncle's. Black argued, but in the end he gave in. Told me ter take his motorbike ter get Harry there. 'I won't need it anymore,' he says." Hagrid all but spit out as he went on.

"I shoulda known there was somethin' fishy goin' on then. He loved that motorbike, what was he givin' it ter me for? Why wouldn' he need it anymore? Fact was, it was too easy ter trace. Dumbledore knew he'd bin the Potters' Secret-Keeper. Black knew he was goin' ter have ter run fer it that night, knew it was a matter o' hours before the Ministry was after him."

"But what if I'd given Harry to him, eh? I bet he'd've pitched him off the bike halfway out ter sea. His bes' friends' son! But when a wizard goes over ter the Dark Side, there's nothin' and no one that matters to em anymore…"

A long silence followed Hagrid's story. Then Madam Rosmerta said with some satisfaction, "But he didn't manage to disappear, did he? The Ministry of Magic caught up with him next day!"

"Alas, if only we had." Fudge said bitterly, "It was not we who found him. It was little Peter Pettigrew, another of the Potters' friends. Maddened by grief, no doubt, and knowing that Black had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper, he went after Black himself."

"Pettigrew… that fat little boy who was always tagging around after them at Hogwarts?" Madam Rosmerta said, recalling the boy.

"Hero-worshipped Black and Potter." Professor McGonagall said, "Never quite in their league, talent-wise. I was often rather sharp with him. You can imagine how I… how I regret that now…" McGonagall said, sounded as though she had a sudden head cold.

"There, there, now, Minerva." Fudge said kindly, "Pettigrew died a hero's death. Eyewitnesses… Muggles, of course, we wiped their memories later… told us how Pettigrew cornered Black. They say he was sobbing, 'Lily and James, Sirius! How could you?' And then he went for his wand. Well, of course, Black was quicker. Blew Pettigrew to smithereens…"

Professor McGonagall blew her nose and said thickly, "Stupid boy… foolish boy… he was always hopeless at dueling… should have left it to the Ministry…"

"I tell yeh, if I'd got ter Black before little Pettigrew did, I wouldn't've messed around with wands — I'd 've ripped him limb… from… _limb_." Hagrid growled.

"You don't know what you're talking about, Hagrid." Fudge said sharply, "Nobody but trained Hit Wizards from the Magical Law Enforcement Squad would have stood a chance against Black once he was cornered. I was Junior Minister in the Department of Magical Catastrophes at the time, and I was one of the first on the scene after Black murdered all those people. I… I will never forget it. I still dream about it sometimes. A crater in the middle of the street, so deep it had cracked the sewer below. Bodies everywhere. Muggles screaming. And Black standing there laughing, with what was left of Pettigrew in front of him… a heap of bloodstained robes and a few… a few fragments… Dear Merlin…" Fudge's voice stopped abruptly. There was the sound of five noses being blown.

"Well, there you have it, Rosmerta." Fudge said thickly, "Black was taken away by twenty members of the Magical Law Enforcement Squad and Pettigrew received the Order of Merlin, First Class, which I think was some comfort to his poor mother. Black's been in Azkaban ever since."

Madam Rosmerta let out a long sigh.

"Is it true he's mad, Minister?"

"I wish I could say that he was…" Fudge said slowly, "I certainly believe his master's defeat unhinged him for a while. The murder of Pettigrew and all those Muggles was the action of a cornered and desperate man… all cruel and pointless. Yet I met Black on my last inspection of Azkaban. You know, most of the prisoners in there sit muttering to themselves in the dark; there's no sense in them… but I was shocked at how normal Black seemed. He spoke quite rationally to me. It was… unnerving. You'd have thought he was merely bored… Asked if I'd finished with my newspaper, cool as you please, said he missed doing the crossword. Yes, I was astounded at how little effect the Dementors seemed to be having on him, and he was one of the most heavily guarded in the place, you know. Dementors outside his door day and night."

"But what do you think he's broken out to do?" Madam Rosmerta said, "Good gracious, Minister, he isn't trying to rejoin You-Know-Who, is he?"

"I daresay that is his… er… eventual plan." Fudge said evasively, "But we hope to catch Black long before that. I must say, You-Know-Who alone and friendless is one thing… but give him back his most devoted servant, and I shudder to think how quickly he'll rise again…"

There was a small chink of glass on wood. Someone had set down their glass.

"You know, Cornelius, if you're dining with the Headmaster, we'd better head back up to the castle." Professor McGonagall said, her voice somewhat hollow.

… like how Harry felt at that moment…

One by one, the pairs of feet in front of Harry took the weight of their owners once more; hems of cloaks swung into sight, and Madam Rosmerta's glittering heels disappeared behind the bar. The door of the Three Broomsticks opened again, there was another flurry of snow, and the teachers had disappeared.

"Harry?"

Ron's and Hermione's faces appeared under the table. They were both staring at him, lost for words.


	9. Grim and Hollow, Part 3

_**Alright gang, time to get groovy! Huh? So we're**_** n****ot**_** in the 60's anymore? Then where will I keep all my moonbeads and bell-bottoms? No, I will**_** no****t**_** sell them to that guy! Becuase he sniffs all the things I sell him! I don't**_** ca****re**_** if he's got a hot daughter! I care even**_** le****ss**_** about his hot**_** s****on!**_** Huh? Oh wait, I'm doing an A/N? Oh well, call you back later, Grandma!**_

_**Okay cool cats, and slick rats, let's get groovy! This chapter is devoted to showing Harry's emotional trek and growing intelligence while dealing with said emotions. The ending, however, will show just how far Harry's come… and just how far he has to fall…**_

**Chapter 9: Grim and Hollow, Part 3**

* * *

><p>Harry didn't have a very clear idea of how he had managed to get back into the Honeydukes cellar, through the tunnel, and into the castle once more. All he knew was that the return trip seemed to take no time at all, and that he hardly noticed what he was doing, because his head was still pounding with the conversation he had just heard. Harry did, however, suspect that an invisible Soi Fon had something to do with his return to the castle as he had felt an invisible arm pulling him along the entire time.<p>

Why had nobody told him? Dumbledore, Hagrid, Mr. Weasley, Cornelius Fudge… why hadn't _anyone_ ever mentioned the fact that Harry's parents had died because their best friend had betrayed them? He would have thought that was something to tell a boy being chased by the very killer who managed to get into the castle.

But, apparently to them, he didn't need to know such things.

Ron and Hermione watched Harry nervously all through dinner, not daring to talk about what they'd overheard, because Percy was sitting close by them. Soi Fon stood near, not speaking as she gave him worried glances and bit her lower lip.

When they went upstairs to the crowded common room, it was to find Fred and George had set off half a dozen Dungbombs in a fit of end-of-term high spirits. Harry, who didn't want Fred and George asking him whether he'd reached Hogsmeade or not, sneaked quietly up to the empty dormitory and headed straight for his bedside cabinet. He pushed his books aside and quickly found what he was looking for; the leather-bound photo album Hagrid had given him two years ago, which was full of wizarding-pictures of his mother and father. Harry sat down on his bed, drew the hangings around him, and started turning the pages, searching, until…

Harry stopped on a picture of his parents' wedding day. There was his father waving up at him, beaming, the untidy black hair that he had inherited standing up in all directions. There was his mother, alight with happiness, arm in arm with his father. And there… that must have been him. Their best man… Harry had never given him a thought before.

If he hadn't known it was the same person, he would never have guessed it was Black in this old photograph. His face wasn't sunken and waxy, but handsome, full of laughter unlike the prison picture Harry had seen before. Had he already been working for Voldemort when this picture had been taken? Was he already planning the deaths of the two people next to him? Did he realize he was facing twelve years in Azkaban, twelve years that would make him unrecognizable?

"_But the Dementors don't affect him_." Harry thought, staring into the handsome, laughing face, "_He doesn't have to hear my Mum screaming if they get too close. He doesn't have to_-"

"Pot-… Harry…" a small, timid voice called as Harry slammed the album shut.

"Who's there?" Harry asked as he saw a form outside his curtains.

"It's me… Soi Fon…" the shy voice replied as Harry lowered his eyes. He didn't want to talk to anyone. He just wanted to wallow in depression in peace, "I know you don't wanna talk, and I might not really know how you feel right now, but if you ever do feel like talking or anything… Well, I'm here, ya know." Soi Fon said, sounding as though her speaking to him dredged up painful memories. Harry stayed quiet though, feeling the hollowness of his own heart as he thought about what Black did to his parents.

"I'm always here… Pot-… Harry. If not me, then Mayuri, or Hachi… some of the others as well. You… Just… Listen, you have friends; living and Soul Reaper… We'll be here for you, if you need us…" Soi Fon said in a quiet voice as Harry saw her figure turn about, "… if you let us…" and then, the figure was gone, back to the shadows from whence it came.

Harry stared at the closed photo album for a long while. He sighed after what must have been twenty minutes, reaching over and stuffing the album back into his cabinet before he took off his robe and glasses and got into bed, making sure the hangings were hiding him from view.

Just as he was about to curl up and cry himself to sleep, the dormitory door opened.

"Harry?" Ron's voice said with a certain degree of uncertainly.

But Harry didn't reply. He lay still, pretending to be asleep. He heard Ron leave again, and rolled over on his back, his eyes wide open.

Harry had no clue where it came from, but he knew it would come sooner or later. A hatred of such he had never known before was coursing through him like poison. He could just see it; Black laughing at him through the darkness, as though somebody had pasted the picture from the album over his eyes.

Harry watched, as though somebody was playing him a piece of film, Sirius Black blasting Peter Pettigrew (who resembled Neville Longbottom, in Harry's own mind) into a thousand pieces. He could hear (though having no idea what Black's voice might sound like) a low, excited mutter. "It has happened, My Lord… the Potters have made me their Secret-Keeper" and then came another voice, laughing shrilly, the same laugh that Harry heard inside his head whenever the Dementors drew near…

* * *

><p>"Harry, you… you look terrible."<p>

"Gee thanks for that 'Mione." Harry said as Hermione smiled.

"Anytime."

Harry hadn't gotten to sleep until daybreak. He had awoken to find the dormitory deserted, dressed, and gone down the spiral staircase to a common room that was completely empty except for Ron, who was eating a Peppermint Toad and massaging his stomach, and Hermione, who had spread her homework over three tables.

"Where is everyone?" Harry asked sleepily as Ron and Hermione exchanged looks before gazing on him again.

"Gone! It's the first day of the holidays, remember?" Ron said, watching Harry closely, "It's nearly lunchtime; I was going to come and wake you up in a minute."

Harry slumped into a chair next to the fire. Snow was still falling outside the windows. Crookshanks was spread out in front of the fire like a large, ginger rug.

"You really don't look well, you know." Hermione said, peering anxiously into his face.

"What did you expect?" Harry asked quietly, not bothering to look up at his female best friend.

"Exactly what you look like of course. I just hoped you would have looked better." Hermione said, though she tried to make light of it, it was doing nothing for Harry's mood.

"I'm fine." Harry said.

"Harry, listen…" Hermione said, exchanging a look with Ron, "You must be really upset about what we heard yesterday, but the thing is; you mustn't go doing anything stupid."

"Like what?" Harry snapped, growing tired of people not telling him what was important, yet having the _gall_ to tell him what to do.

"Like trying to go after Black." Ron said sharply, knowing his friend would react the way he did.

Harry could tell they had rehearsed this conversation while he had been asleep. He didn't say anything. He was perfectly fine to brood on his thoughts while they got their good lives, with their good families, and their-

Harry cut his own train of thoughts off. No, he wouldn't be like that. IT wasn't their faults his life was messed up. However, that still didn't dismiss the fact that his two best friends didn't understand… not at all.

"You won't go after him… will you, Harry?" Hermione said, her hands shaking in her lap as Ron sat up straight.

"Because Black's not worth dying for." Ron said quickly, as Harry looked both his friends in the eye

They didn't seem to understand… not at all.

"D'you know what I see and hear every time a Dementor gets too near me?" Harry said suddenly as Ron and Hermione shook their heads, looking apprehensive, "I can hear my mum screaming and pleading with Voldemort. And if you'd heard your mum screaming like that, just about to be killed, you wouldn't forget it in such a hurry. And if you found out someone who was supposed to be a _friend_ of hers betrayed her and sent _Voldemort_ after her-"

"There's nothing you can do!" Hermione said quickly, looking as if she had been struck, "The Dementors will catch Black and he'll go back to Azkaban and… and serve him right!"

"You heard what Fudge said. Black isn't affected by Azkaban like normal people are. It's not a punishment for him like it is for the others." Harry snapped as Hermione lowered her head.

"So what are you saying…?" Ron said, looking very tense, "You want to… to _kill_ Black or something?"

"Don't be silly." Hermione said in a panicky voice as her hands shook violently, "Harry doesn't want to kill anyone… d-do you, Harry?"

Again, Harry didn't answer. He didn't know what he wanted to do. All he knew was that the idea of doing nothing, while Black was at liberty, was almost more than he could stand. Then, something clicked to him as he stood abruptly.

"Draco knows." Harry said abruptly, more to himself than any other, "Remember what he said to me in Potions? 'If it was me, I'd hunt him down myself… I'd want revenge.' This is what he was talking about!"

"You're going to take _Malfoy's_ advice instead of _ours_?" Ron said furiously, "Listen… you know what Pettigrew's mother got back after Black had finished with him? Dad told me. It was the Order of Merlin- First Class, and Pettigrew's _finger_ in a box. That was the _biggest_ bit of him they could find. Black's a madman, Harry, and he's dangerous-"

"Draco's dad must have told him." Harry said tightly with his fists clenched, ignoring Ron, "He was right in Voldemort's inner circle-"

"Say You-Know-Who, will you?" Ron interjected angrily.

"-so obviously, the Malfoys knew Black was working for Voldemort."

"— and Malfoy'd love to see you blown into about a million pieces, like Pettigrew! Get a grip. Malfoy's just hoping you'll get yourself killed before he has to play you at Quidditch."

"Harry, please…" Hermione said quietly, her eyes now shining with unshed tears, "Please be sensible. Black did a terrible, _terrible_ thing, but d-don't put yourself in danger, it's what Black wants… Oh, Harry, you'd be playing right into Black's hands if you went looking for him. Your mum and dad wouldn't want you to get hurt, would they? They'd never want you to go looking for Black!"

"I'll never know what they'd have wanted, because thanks to Black, I've never spoken to them…" Harry said shortly and crispy, his friends flinching at his cutting tone.

There was a silence in which Crookshanks started to stretch, flexing his claws luxuriously as Ron's pocket quivered.

"Look!" Ron said, obviously casting around for a change of subject, "It's the holidays! It's nearly Christmas! Let's… Umm… let's go down and see Hagrid. We haven't visited him for ages!"

"No!" Hermione said, shooting down the idea quickly, "Harry isn't supposed to leave the castle, Ron-"

"Yeah, let's go." Harry said, sitting up, "And then I can ask him how come he never mentioned Sirius Black to me when he told me all about my parents!"

Further discussion of Sirius Black plainly wasn't what Ron had had in mind.

"Or, or, or… we could have a game of chess." Ron said hastily, "Or even Gobstones. Percy left a set-"

"No, let's visit Hagrid." Harry said so firmly that Ron merely shut his mouth and all protests died in both his friends.

So they got their cloaks from their dormitories, and set off through the portrait hole ("Stand and fight, you yellow-bellied mongrels!" "Shut up!" "… Someone's a grumpy monkey…"), down through the empty castle and out through the oak front doors.

They made their way slowly down the lawn, making a shallow trench in the glittering, powdery snow, their socks and the hems of their cloaks soaked and freezing. The Forbidden Forest looked as though it had been enchanted, each tree smattered with silver, and Hagrid's cabin looked like an iced cake.

Ron knocked, but there was no answer.

"He's not out, is he?" Hermione asked, shivering under her cloak as Ron put his ear to the door.

"There's a weird noise…" Ron said as he listened closer, "Listen… is that Fang?"

Harry and Hermione put their ears to the door too. From inside the cabin came a series of low, throatily moans.

"Think we'd better go and get someone?" Ron said nervously as Harry moved his friend out of the way.

"Hagrid!" Harry called, pounding at the door with his fist, "Hagrid, are you in there?"

There was a sound of heavy footsteps, then the door creaked open. Hagrid stood there with his eyes red and swollen, tears splashing down the front of his leather vest.

"You've heard?" Hagrid bellowed mournfully, as he flung himself onto Harry's neck.

Hagrid being at least twice the size of a normal man, this was no laughing matter as Harry held Hagrid it. It astonished him greatly that he was holding up his half-giant of a friend with only a moderate amount of difficulty. However, even Harry couldn't keep Harry up for long, as after a few minutes, Harry was about to collapse under Hagrid's weight. Ron and Hermione soon came to his rescue after getting over the shock of Harry's new-found strength and how long Harry was able to keep going. Ron and Hermione both seized Hagrid under each arm and, with Harry's help, heaved him back into the cabin. Hagrid allowed himself to be steered into a chair and slumped over the table, sobbing uncontrollably, his face glazed with tears that dripped down into his tangled beard.

"Hagrid, what is it?" Hermione asked, sounding aghast.

Harry, however, had already spotted an official-looking letter lying open on the table.

"What's this, Hagrid?" Harry asked as Hagrid's sobs redoubled, but he shoved the letter toward Harry, who picked it up and read aloud:

_**Dear Mr. Hagrid,**_

_**Further to our inquiry into the attack by a Hippogriff on a student in your class, we have accepted the assurances of Professor Dumbledore that you bear no responsibility for the regrettable incident.**_

"Well, that's okay then, Hagrid!" Ron said, clapping Hagrid on the shoulder happily, but Hagrid continued to sob, and waved one of his gigantic hands, inviting Harry to read on.

_**However, we must register our concern about the Hippogriff in question. We have decided to uphold the official complaint of Mr. Lucius Malfoy, and this matter will therefore be taken to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. The hearing will take place on April 20th, and we ask you to present yourself and your Hippogriff at the Committee's offices in London on that date. In the meantime, the Hippogriff should be kept tethered and isolated.**_

_**Yours in fellowship…**_

There followed a list of the school governors, one most notably being Lucius Malfoy.

"Oh." Ron said, his face falling, "But you said Buckbeak isn't a bad Hippogriff, Hagrid. I bet he'll get off."

"Yeh don' know them gargoyles at the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures!" Hagrid choked out, wiping his eyes on his sleeve, "They've got it in fer interestin' creatures!"

A sudden sound from the corner of Hagrid's cabin made Harry, Ron, and Hermione whip around. Harry had his wand out in a flash, brandishing it as if he were a knight with a sword. Buckbeak the Hippogriff was lying in the corner, chomping on something that was oozing blood all over the floor. Harry sighed, slipping his wand back into the hidden pocket of his cloak.

"I couldn' leave him tied up out there in the snow!" Hagrid choked out, "All on his own! At Christmas!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another, having never seen eye-to-eye with Hagrid about what he called "interesting creatures" or what other (logical) people called "terrifying monsters." On the other hand, there didn't seem to be any particular harm in Buckbeak. In fact, by Hagrid's usual standards, he was positively cute.

"You'll have to put up a good strong defense, Hagrid." Hermione said, sitting down and laying a hand on Hagrid's massive forearm, "I'm sure you can prove Buckbeak is safe."

"Won' make no diff'rence!" Hagrid sobbed out as he ran a hand across his face to wipe away the fresh tears, "Them Disposal devils, they're all in Lucius Malfoy's pocket! Scared o' him! And if I lose the case, Buckbeak-"

Hagrid cut himself off to draw his finger swiftly across his throat, then gave a great wail and lurched forward, his face in his arms.

"What about Dumbledore, Hagrid?" Harry said, his anger and depression melted away in favor of his friend's own anguish.

He'd be having a serious talk with Draco later on.

"He's done more'n enough fer me already." Hagrid groaned, "Got enough on his plate what with keepin' them Dementors outta the castle, an' Sirius Black lurkin' around."

Ron and Hermione looked quickly at Harry, as though expecting him to start berating Hagrid for not telling him the truth about Black. But Harry couldn't bring himself to do it, not now that he saw Hagrid so miserable and scared.

"Listen, Hagrid…" Harry said, "You can't give up. Hermione's right, you just need a good defense. You can call us as witnesses-"

"I'm sure I've read about a case of Hippogriff-baiting where the Hippogriff got off. " Hermione said thoughtfully, cutting Harry off as he frowned at her, "I'll look it up for you, Hagrid, and see exactly what happened."

Hagrid howled still more loudly as Harry and Hermione looked at Ron to help them.

"Er… shall I make a cup of tea?" Ron said lamely as his two friends, and even Buckbeak from the corner, gave him a deadpan look. Harry and Hermione continued to stare at him while Buckbeak seemed to roll his eyes and give up.

"What? It's what my mum does whenever someone's upset." Ron muttered in his defense, shrugging.

At last, after many more assurances of help, with a steaming mug of tea in front of him, Hagrid blew his nose on a handkerchief the size of a tablecloth and said, "Yer right. I can' afford to go ter pieces. Gotta pull meself together…"

Fang the boarhound came timidly out from under the table and laid his head on Hagrid's knee.

"I've not bin meself lately." said Hagrid, stroking Fang with one hand and mopping his face with the other, "Worried about Buckbeak, an' no one likin' me classes-"

"We do like them!" Hermione lied at once.

"Yeah, they're great!" Ron said, crossing his fingers under the table, "Er… how are the flobberworms?"

"Dead." Hagrid said gloomily, "T-Too much lettuce."

"Oh no!" Ron said dramatically, his lip twitching.

"An' them Dementors make me feel ruddy terrible an' all." said Hagrid, with a sudden shudder. "Gotta walk past 'em ev'ry time I want a drink in the Three Broomsticks. It's like bein' back in Azkaban…"

Hagrid fell silent, gulping his tea down as if it were a much stronger brood. Harry, Ron, and Hermione watched him breathlessly. They had never heard Hagrid talk about his brief spell in Azkaban before.

After a pause, Hermione said timidly, "Is it awful in there, Hagrid?"

"Yeh've no idea." Hagrid said quietly, "Never bin anywhere like it. Thought I was goin' mad. Kep' goin' over horrible stuff in me mind… the day I got expelled from Hogwarts… day me dad died… day I had ter let Norbert go…"

His eyes filled with tears as he thought of Norbert, the baby dragon Hagrid had once won in a game of cards.

"Yeh can' really remember who yeh are after a while. An' yeh can' really see the point o' livin' at all. I used ter hope I'd jus' die in me sleep. When they let me out, it was like bein' born again, ev'rythin' came floodin' back, it was the bes' feelin' in the world. Mind, the Dementors weren't keen on lettin' me go."

"But you were innocent!" Hermione cried out as Hagrid snorted.

"Think that matters to them? They don' care. Long as they've got a couple o' hundred humans stuck there with 'em, so they can leech all the happiness out of 'em, they don' give a damn who's guilty an' who's not."

Hagrid went quiet for a moment, staring into his tea as though reflecting on something. Then he said quietly, "Thought o' jus' letting Buckbeak go… tryin' ter make him fly away… but how d'yeh explain ter a Hippogriff it's gotta go inter hidin'? An' — an' I'm scared o' breakin' the law…" He looked up at them, tears leaking down his face again. "I don' ever want ter go back ter Azkaban."

* * *

><p>The trip to Hagrid's, though far from fun, had nevertheless had the effect Ron and Hermione had hoped for. Though Harry had by <em>no<em> means _forgotten_ about Sirius Black, he couldn't brood constantly on revenge if he wanted to help Hagrid win his case against the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. He, Ron, and Hermione went to the library the next day and returned to the empty common room laden with books that might help prepare a defense for Buckbeak. The three of them sat in front of the roaring fire, slowly turning the pages of dusty volumes about famous cases of marauding beasts, speaking occasionally when they ran across something relevant.

"Here's something… there was a case in 1722… but the Hippogriff was convicted …Ugh, look what they did to it, that's… disgusting."

"This might help, look. A Manticore savaged someone in 1296, and they let the Manticore off… Oh… oh no, wait. That was only because everyone was too scared to go near it…"

Meanwhile, in the rest of the castle, the usual magnificent Christmas decorations had been put up, despite the fact that hardly any of the students remained to enjoy them. Thick streamers of holly and mistletoe were strung along the corridors, mysterious lights shone from inside every suit of armor, and the Great Hall was filled with its usual twelve Christmas trees, glittering with golden stars. A powerful and delicious smell of cooking pervaded the corridors, and by Christmas Eve, it had grown so strong that even Scabbers had poked his nose out of the shelter of Ron's pocket to sniff hopefully at the air.

On Christmas morning, Harry was woken by Ron throwing his pillow at him.

"Oy! Presents!"

Harry reached for his glasses and put them on, squinting through the semi-darkness to the foot of his bed, where a small heap of parcels had appeared. Ron was already ripping the paper off his own presents. Harry sighed as he looked around, catching sight of a shadow molding back into shape.

"Soi Fon…" Harry muttered as Ron groaned.

"Another sweater from Mum… maroon again… see if you've got one." Ron said as Harry cracked a small smile as he opened one of his presents.

He did get one. Mrs. Weasley had sent him a scarlet sweater with the Gryffindor lion knitted on the front, also a dozen home-baked mince pies, some Christmas cake, and a box of nut brittle. There was even some other things, like a present he was sure was a book, and another that was oddly shaped. However, as Harry moved all these things aside, he saw a long, thin package lying underneath.

"What's that?" Ron asked, looking over a freshly unwrapped pair of maroon socks in his hands.

"Dunno…" was Harry short reply as he began ripped the parcel open and gasped as a magnificent, gleaming broomstick rolled out onto his bedspread. Ron dropped his socks and jumped off his bed for a closer look.

"I don't believe it…" Ron said hoarsely as he and Harry stared at the broom in shock.

It was a Firebolt, identical to the dream broom Harry had gone to see every day in Diagon Alley. Its handle glittered as he picked it up. He could feel it vibrating and let go; it hung in midair, unsupported, at exactly the right height for him to mount it. His eyes moved from the golden registration number at the top of the handle, right down to the perfectly smooth, streamlined birch twigs that made up the tail.

"Who sent it to you?" Ron asked in a hushed voice.

"Look and see if there's a card." Harry said, not daring to take his eyes off the broom.

Something was off, and his newfound sixth sense for feeling what couldn't be felt by normal people was telling him just that…

Ron ripped apart the Firebolt's wrappings before sighing in frustration, "Nothing! Blimey, who'd spend that much on you?"

"Well…" Harry said, feeling stunned by his friend's blunt statement even though he knew Ron didn't mean it that way, "I'm betting it wasn't the Dursleys."

"Yeah… Hey, I know! I bet it was Dumbledore!" Ron said, now walking around and around the Firebolt to take in every glorious inch of the magnificent broom, "He sent you the Invisibility Cloak anonymously…"

"That was my dad's, though." Harry said, "Dumbledore was just passing it on to me. He wouldn't spend hundreds of Galleons on me. He can't go giving students stuff like this-"

"That's why he wouldn't say it was from him!" Ron said as though he figured out some great mystery, "In case some git like Malfoy said it was favoritism. Hey, Harry!" Ron said with a great whoop of laughter, "That's it! Malfoy! Wait 'til he sees you on this! He'll be sick as a pig! This is an international standard broom, this is!"

"I can't believe this…" Harry muttered, running a hand along the Firebolt, while Ron sank onto Harry's bed, laughing his head off at the thought of Draco's face, "Who could have-"

"I know!" said Ron, controlling himself, "I know who it could've been! Professor Lupin!"

"What?" Harry said, now starting to laugh himself, "_Lupin_, Ron? Listen, if he had this much gold, he'd be able to buy himself some new robes."

"Yeah, but he seems to _like_ you." Ron said teasingly, "And he was away when your Nimbus got smashed, and he might've heard about it and decided to visit Diagon Alley and get this for you-"

"What do you mean, he was away?" Harry asked, "He was ill when I was playing in t-that match."

"Well, he wasn't in the hospital wing." Ron pointed, "I was there, cleaning out the bedpans on that detention from Snape, remember?"

Harry frowned, but not at Ron. He could feel something was wrong with the picture of Lupin, and this new little piece only made it one step closer to solving the puzzle.

"I can't see Lupin affording something like this…" Harry muttered.

"What're you two laughing about?"

Hermione had just come in, wearing her dressing gown and carrying Crookshanks, who was looking very grumpy, with a string of tinsel tied around his neck. Harry could only sigh as he knew the cat would be up all night swearing and cursing Hermione for "putting that ridiculous winter season wrapping on him!".

"Don't bring him in here!" Ron said, hurriedly snatching Scabbers from the depths of his bed and stowing him in his pajama pocket. But Hermione wasn't listening. She dropped Crookshanks onto Seamus's empty bed and stared, open-mouthed, at the Firebolt.

"Oh, Harry! Who sent you that?"

"No idea…" Harry said, "There wasn't a card or anything with it."

To Harry's not so great surprise, Hermione did not appear either excited or intrigued by the news. On the contrary, her face fell, and she bit her lip. Harry already knew along what lines the girl was thinking, and he'd already started formulating his own plans to counteract hers.

"What's the matter with you?" Ron asked as Hermione stared hard at the fresh new broom.

"I don't know…" Hermione said slowly, "But… it's a bit odd, isn't it? I mean, this is supposed to be quite a good broom, isn't it?"

Ron sighed exasperatedly.

"It's the best broom there is, Hermione." Ron said.

"So it must've been really expensive…" Hermione said as Ron grew a smile.

"Probably cost more than all the Slytherins' brooms put together." Ron said happily.

"Well… who'd send Harry something as expensive as that, and not even tell him they'd sent it?" Hermione asked as Harry narrowed his eyes at his friend.

"Who cares?" Ron said impatiently, "Listen, Harry, can I have a go on it? Can I?"

"I don't think anyone should ride that broom just yet!" Hermione said shrilly as Harry and Ron looked at her.

"What d'you think Harry's going to do with it; sweep the floor?" Ron said with a frown, clearly piecing together Hermione's thoughts and mood.

But before Hermione could answer, Crookshanks sprang from Seamus's bed, right at Ron's chest.

"Get… him… _out of here_!" Ron bellowed as Crookshanks's claws ripped his pajamas and Scabbers attempted a wild escape over his shoulder. Ron seized Scabbers by the tail and aimed a misjudged kick at Crookshanks that hit the trunk at the end of Harry's bed, knocking it over and causing Ron to hop up and down, howling in pain as he clutched his foot.

Crookshanks's fur suddenly stood on end. A shrill, tinny, whistling was filling the room. The Pocket Sneakoscope had become dislodged from Uncle Vernon's old socks and was whirling and gleaming on the floor.

"I forgot about that!" Harry said, bending down and picking up the Sneakoscope, "I never wear those socks if I can help it…"

The Sneakoscope whirled and whistled in his palm as Crookshanks was hissing and spitting at it, sending subtle nods toward where Ron was. Harry shrugged it off though, figuring that the device was broken.

"You'd better take that cat out of here, Hermione." Ron said furiously, sitting on Harry's bed nursing his toe, "Can't you shut that thing up?" Ron added to Harry as Hermione strode out of the room, Crookshanks's yellow eyes still fixed maliciously on Ron's rat.

Harry stuffed the Sneakoscope back inside the socks and threw it back into his trunk. All that could be heard now were Ron's stifled moans of pain and rage as Scabbers was huddled in Ron's hands. It had been a while since Harry had seen him out of Ron's pocket, and he was unpleasantly surprised to see that Scabbers, once so fat, was now very skinny; patches of fur seemed to have fallen out too.

"He's not looking too good, is he?" Harry said.

"It's stress!" Ron said fitfully, "He'd be fine if that big stupid furball left him alone!"

But Harry, remembering what the woman at the Magical Menagerie had said about rats living only three years, couldn't help feeling that unless Scabbers had powers he had never revealed (like Crookshanks), he was reaching the end of his life. And despite Ron's frequent complaints that Scabbers was both boring and useless, he was sure Ron would be very miserable if Scabbers died. In fact…

"Hey, didn't you say that your brothers had him before you?" Harry asked as Ron gave him an odd look.

"Yeah…" Ron said slowly.

"And for how long?" Harry asked.

"About eleven years. Why…?" Ron said as he gave Harry a suspicious look.

"Well… aren't rats only supposed to live for three? I mean, Scabbers there must have some power that we don't know about to live so long." Harry said as Crookshanks hissed again, almost in warning while Ron smiled a bit as he held up the rat.

"Yeah… I guess you're right…"

Christmas spirit was definitely thin on the ground in the Gryffindor common room that morning. Hermione had shut Crookshanks in her dormitory, but was furious with Ron for trying to kick him; Ron was still fuming about Crookshanks's fresh attempt to eat Scabbers. Harry gave up trying to make them talk to each other and devoted himself to examining the Firebolt, which he had brought down to the common room with him. For some reason this seemed to annoy Hermione as well; she didn't say anything, but she kept looking darkly at the broom as though it too had been criticizing her cat and worrying her half to death.

* * *

><p>Hours before lunch, while both Ron and Hermione were stuck in the dormitories while they didn't want to be bothered with one another, Harry snuck out of the Gryffindor dorm, and made his way to the Seventh Floor. Halfway there, Soi Fon materialized a few steps behind him, falling into pace with ease.<p>

"Are you feeling any better?" Soi Fon asked quietly as Harry frowned, but not for long as he sighed while raking a hand through his jet black hair.

"Yeah… I think I am. I mean, I'm sure you heard everything that's been going on. I want to make Black _pay_ for what he did to my family, but…"

"All the pieces aren't adding up." Soi Fon said, moving a bit closer to him.

"Yeah. It's like it fits, but that just might be me wanting to blame someone for my not having parents. I mean, I could _always_ blame Voldemort." Harry said as he continued on his way to the Seventh Floor.

"Yes, but when Sirius Black gave that Hagrid fellow the… what was it called, a motocycle?"

"Motorcycle, yes." Harry corrected as Soi Fon blushed lightly.

"Yes, well, when Sirius Black gave Hagrid-san… I mean, Mr. Hagrid the… thingy, it couldn't have been to get away, could it? It might be traceable, but if it were and the authortities had followed it to Hagrid, then what? And Black killing normal Humans and a Peter Pettigrew. It all just doesn't add up." Soi Fon said, a pensive frown adorning her youthful face.

"Maybe, but I there's always so much going on that it normally takes the entire school year just to get the last bit of info and solve the mystery." Harry said as Soi Fon moved even closer to him, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Then don't brand him a murder and traitor just yet. It's all, as you Englishmen would say, dodgy. We'll speak to Mayuri, and see if he can shine any light on this." Soi Fon said as Harry turned to her, noting only then that she and he were almost the same height with her being only a few centimeters taller.

"Thanks, Soi Fon." Harry said, hugging her as she tensed. Slowly, she relaxed into his embrace, hugging him back as she had never truly held a person like so. Lady Yoruichi had always been the one to care for her over the past twenty years, taking young Soi Fon into her arms and comforting her. Now it was her turn to comfort and be there to protect not only herself, but Lady Yoruichi and Harry too.

* * *

><p>They both walked on, reaching the Seventh Floor as Soi Fon took out her sword, or Zanpakuto as they preferred Harry to call them. Soi Fon stabbed into the wall opposite the tapestry and turned her Zanpakuto like a key in a keyhole. The wall shimmered like disturbed pond water before transforming into a door that swung open slowly to allow them entrance.<p>

"My, my, can't you two solve anything for your selves. Especially you." Mayuri said pointing at Harry, "Her I can understand, but you actually have a brain!"

"What was that, you deranged lookin' clown?" Soi Fon hissed as Mayuri seemed completely unfazed.

"You heard me, you shadow stalker." Mayuri said as Soi Fon got in the man's personal space.

"I didn't quite catch that, make-up boy." Soi Fon said as Mayuri waved her off.

"The only reason I wear this _paint_ is to hide my own perfection. Unlike you, who could do with a little foundation." Mayuri said as Harry watched the two with wide eyes.

"I… You… Foundation… What…?" Soi Fon stammered before she regained herself, "You bastard! What perfection? Under that you're probably some walking monstrosity; just like you are with the _make-up_ on."

"I don't have time to argue with morons such as you." Mayuri said, though Harry had gotten to know the man well enough to see that Soi Fon was getting to him.

"Oh I'm sure. Just admit it; you're ugly, with or without the make… up."

"It is not make-up!"

"Prove it then! Don't wear it for the next week. If you're so beautiful, that is. Oh, and make… up."

"Fine, dammit! No ma- paint for the next five days! I'll show you, you simpleton from those roguish ninja!"

"Umm… can we get-"

"What all this? Move aside." a gruff elderly voice commanded as both Soi Fon and Mayuri paled (it was harder for Harry to tell on Mayuri than Soi Fon). Their eyes were wide and their mouths agape as they slowly turned to see who was begin them. As soon as they did, the two leapt to one side and bowed formally to the man who now stood with a young boy behind him.

The man looked elderly, or at least of old age as he stood there before Harry. He had slate gray eyes, a gray mustache, and long gray hair. He wore what Harry had come to assume was the standard Captain uniform, which was a white Captain coat, though it had short sleeves, along with a white scarf. His hand were adorned with black fingerless gloves that cover the back of his hands and looped up to attach at the base of his fingers. He gave off the same air that Lucius Malfoy always did; one of superiority and nobility, yet unlike Lucius, it wasn't one of arrogance, but a far more kindly aristocratic feeling.

The boy, however, was a great difference. Harry could see some family resemblance between the two, yet they were so vastly different. The boy looked no older than Harry himself, though maybe a year or two younger. His eyes were the same slate grey as the man's, but they held a zeal for life and a zest for adventure unlike like the old man's which seemed to be growing dim with duty and long life. The boy's hair was black and full, held back in a high ponytail with a small red ribbon doing the tying. His clothes were also not like the old mans, or any of the Soul Reapers even. In fact, from what he was wearing Harry would guess that it was the Academy uniform for males as Shunsui had explained the Academy to him when they had talked about Shunsui's days in the Academy catching girls. The also seemed to smile warmly, as opposed to the old man who smiled through his eyes and seemed gruff about all things from his face.

"Captain Kuchiki! W-What are y-you doing here?" a random member asked as Soi Fon and Mayuri seemed to be asking the same through their posture.

"Hmm? Oh, right. I was sent as a replacement to young Captain Ukitake as he recovers from his illness. Him having no Lieutenant any longer and my needing to not only take a vacation, but also spend some time with my grandson here, makes taking up this mission as the perfect opportunity." the man, Captain Kuchiki said before he sighed, "Oops… seems I said too much."

"You're _always_ saying too much, grandfather." the boy said behind his grandfather, giving the old man's back a deadpan look.

"Hmm? You say something, young Byakuya? Sorry, these old ears of mine must be acting up again." Captain Kuchiki asked nonchalantly as he dug a pink in his ear. The boy, Byakuya only sighed in exasperation as he shouldered a wooden sword that Harry hadn't noticed before.

"Hmm? Who's this one? I don't recognize him as a Division member from our Gotei 13." Captain Kuchiki said as he gazed upon Harry while Byakuya sighed once more.

"Remember what they warned us of, Grandfather. No Japanese in these parts, just plain English." Byakuya said as he shook his head, "But you're right. He doesn't look to be from the 13 Court Guard Squads."

"You caught me." Harry said, deciding that being open with them now would be much better, especially since they seemed like fine people, "I'm Harry Potter. I'm actually a student of the school you're currently in. It's a pleasure to me you." Harry said, outstretching his hand as Captain Kuchiki took it in a firm handshake.

"Hmm, a nice strong, firm grip. That's good. I'm Ginrei Kuchiki, Captain of the Sixth Division-"

"_Squad_, Grandfather. _Squad 6_." Byakuya corrected, but Ginrei pressed on ignoring him.

"-and the 27th Head of the Kuchiki family this is my darling granddaughter Byakuya." Captain Kuchiki said as Byakuya grew annoyed quickly, stamping his foot in anger.

"Dammit, old man! I'm a _boy_! Not a girl! Have you gone senile?" Byakuya yelled as Harry looked on in shock that someone of obvious noble descent could be so… odd, while Ginrei looked at Byakuya as though he hadn't caught a word.

"Huh? You say something, Byaku-chan. Sorry, these old ears of mine must be acting up again. Don't worry, we'll go get your dresses and sweets later." Ginrei said causally, nothing on his face giving anything away that he was joking. In fact, he said it so unchangingly, that Harry had to look back at Byakuya just to be sure the boy really _was_ a boy.

"Now then, Bya-chan, introduce yourself to our new friend." Ginrei said, gesturing to Harry as Byakuya sighed tiredly before he looked up at Harry with a smile.

"Hello, I'm Byakuya Kuchiki. Unlike Grandfather, I haven't gained any titles yet, but I shall someday. I'm next in line to become the head of the Kuchiki family. It's a pleasure to meet you." Byakuya said pleasantly as he and Harry shook hands. In that instant, Byakuya's eyes widened.

"Your rei- I mean, spiritual energy and it's pressure… They're enormous…" Byakuya said in awe and a small undertone of fear that Harry caught.

"Hmm… That may be because he hangs around the likes of Captain Ukitake and Kyoraku. Now that I'm here, I do remember reading a brief report about you, Mr. Potter." Ginrei said as Harry looked at him.

"Please, call me Harry. I haven't done neither enough for someone like you to call me Mister anything." Harry said with a smile, remembering what Jushiro and Shunsui had told him about his self-doubt and such.

"Hmm… If you say so, kid." Ginrei said, placing his hands together in his sleeves like Shunsui had done when thinking positive things.

"I do believe you came here for a reason, Harry." Mayuri said, making his presence known as he got over his shock and awe that Captain Kuchiki had stepped onto the scene without them even knowing so.

"Oh yeah. I need you to check this broom to be sure it's safe. And please Mayuri, with care." Harry said, handing the Firebolt over to Mayuri with some difficulty as his hands just wouldn't let such an amazing broom go.

"Lucky for you, they imported the Anomaly Analyzer just this morning. I won't even have to put a straw out of place as the machine scans it and tells us if anything that shouldn't be there, is." Mayuri said, his voice oily as he fawned over his science and technology.

* * *

><p>Harry waited with the others as he struck up a conversation with Ginrei, who insisted on being called such ("It's the way a noble extends great honor to those around him." "Grandfather, you hardly know him!" "… You say something, granddaughter?" "Ahh! You senile old fart!"), and Byakuya, who wanted to called such as well since his grandfather insisted on it. They talked about many things, even debated on some. Their topics ranged from nobility, tea ceremonies, calligraphy ("It's a great art, Harry! You'd like it!" "How is writing on giant paper fun…?"), and even pride.<p>

"Pride?" Harry echoed as Ginrei nodded.

"Yes, young Harry. One must always have their pride. Without it, a man or woman just wouldn't be themselves." Ginrei said seriously as Harry raised a brow.

"But I thought pride was a sin, something that can lead to a person's downfall." Harry said as Ginrei nodded.

"Yes, if you allow it to control you. However, one's pride can take the form of many a things." Ginrei said, looking off at some of the ninja who were practicing and some of the normal unseated Soul Reaper who were training with swords.

"Huh?" was Harry's intelligent reply.

"Oh man, you're hopeless." Byakuya joked with a smile, "Grandfather means that a person's pride can be anything they wish to protect. I don't know how you Englishmen do things, but we of the Soul Society see our pride as something worth protecting. Like my pride is the Kuchiki family and it's name. Your pride is something you would give your life for. So tell me, Harry. What is _your_ pride?" Byakuya said as Harry pondered the thought, but came to an answer in seconds.

"My friends. They're like family to me, and even though we have our… uh, rough patches, I'd still give my life for them. They're just about the only thing I have in this world." Harry said, adding the last part a bit more quietly as Ginrei and Byakuya raised their respective brows.

"Hmm…" Ginrei hummed as he watched Harry out of the corner of his eye.

"Well, if you want to protect them from that Voldemort guy you told us about, then you'll need to grow strong." Byakuya said as Harry sighed depressively.

"I can't even protect myself from some Dementors…" Harry said somberly as Byakuya gripped his shoulder.

"I'm sure you'll find the strength to stand up to anything, so long as you have your pride to protect." Byakuya said as he patted Harry's shoulder while Harry smiled shyly. Byakuya was so confident, so care-free. Harry wished that he could be like that. He was… at a time, but with the events of Hogwarts each year-

"It's done, Harry." Mayuri's voice came from over by his machines.

They all quickly moved to where Mayuri was, holding up Harry's new broom like a trophy.

"_Probably because it proved his machine works in the castle_…" Harry thought with a smirk as he stopped in front the scientist.

"So, what are the results, Doc?" Harry asked, remembering a television show he had seen.

"My machine works!" Mayuri exclaimed happily, then took in all the deadpan looks before he rolled his eyes and tossed Harry his broom uncaringly, "Oh, and there's nothing wrong with your broom."

"Thanks, Mayuri." Harry said as the man waved him off.

"Don't mention it. Seriously, _don't_ mention it, _to_ _anyone_. I don't need more Neanderthals coming to me for their problems." Mayuri said with a straight face.

"Sure, whatever you say, Mayuri." Harry said, all too happy that his broom wasn't cursed, hexed, or jinxed.

"Hmm…" Ginrei hummed in thought, glancing from Byakuya to Harry.

Oh, he had a plan!

"Excuse me, youngsters. All this excitement has worn me out. I think I'll retire to my quarters until lunch." Ginrei said and in a blur of motion, was gone with the only sound signaling the man's disappearance being a swooshing sound.

Wait… a swooshing sound…?

Harry shook his head, having no time to ponder the thought of the Soul Reaper high-seed thing in favor of fawning over his new un-harmful broom.

"So, what will you do now, Harry?" Byakuya asked as Harry shrugged. He didn't want to ride the broom around in the room. True, the room was as large as a full building, but Harry didn't want to accidentally hurt someone trying to show off.

"I guess I'll hang around here until lunch. Haven't got much else to do." Harry said with a shrug.

"That's cool. So, how do you feel about cherry blossoms…"

* * *

><p>At lunchtime, Harry left the Seventh Floor and journeyed down to the Great Hall, but not before stopping in his dorm to put away his new Firebolt. He walked into the Great Hall, only to find that the House tables had been moved against the walls again, and that a single table, set for twelve, stood in the middle of the room. Professors Dumbledore, McGonagall, Snape, Sprout, and Flitwick were there, along with Filch, the caretaker, who had taken off his usual brown coat and was wearing a very old and rather moldy-looking tailcoat. There were only three other students, two extremely nervous-looking First Years and a sullen-faced Slytherin Fifth Year.<p>

"Happy Christmas!" Dumbledore said as Harry, Ron, and Hermione (the latter two catching him as he had entered the common room and tagged along with him after many annoying questions) approached the table, "As there are so few of us here, it seemed foolish to use the House tables… Please, come and sit down!"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down side by side toward the middle of one side of the table.

"Crackers!" Dumbledore said enthusiastically, offering the end of a large silver noisemaker to Snape, who took it reluctantly (with both a sigh and roll of his eyes) before he tugged. With a bang like a gunshot, the cracker flew apart to reveal a large, pointed witches hat topped with a stuffed vulture.

Harry, remembering the Boggart, caught Ron's eye and they both grinned while Snape's mouth thinned and he pushed the hat toward Dumbledore, who swapped it for his wizard's hat at once.

"Dig in!" Dumbledore advised the table, beaming around.

Just as Harry was helping himself to roast potatoes, the doors of the Great Hall opened again. It was Professor Trelawney, gliding toward them as though on wheels. She had put on a green sequined dress in honor of the occasion, making her look more than ever like a glittering, oversized dragonfly.

"Sybil, this is a pleasant surprise!" said Dumbledore, standing up.

"I have been crystal gazing, Headmaster." Professor Trelawney said in her mistiest, most faraway voice, "And, to my astonishment, I saw myself abandoning my solitary luncheon and coming to join you. Who am I to refuse the promptings of fate? I at once hastened from my tower, and I do beg you to forgive my lateness…"

"Certainly, certainly!" Dumbledore said, his blue eyes twinkling, "Let me draw you up a chair."

And he did indeed draw a chair in midair with his wand, which revolved for a few seconds before falling with a soft thud between Professors Snape and McGonagall as the table stretched itself to make them all comfortable. Professor Trelawney, however, did not sit down; her enormous eyes had been roving around the table, and she suddenly uttered a kind of soft scream.

"I dare not, Headmaster! If I join the table, we shall be thirteen! Nothing could be more unlucky! Never forget that when thirteen dine together, the first to rise will be the first to die!"

"We'll risk it, Sybil." Professor McGonagall said impatiently, "Do sit down, the turkey's getting stone cold."

Professor Trelawney hesitated, however, before she lowered herself into the empty chair, eyes shut and mouth clenched tight, as though expecting a thunderbolt to hit the table. Professor McGonagall poked a large spoon into the nearest tureen.

"Tripe, Sybil?" McGonagall asked as Harry gave a small chuckle at the double-meaning word-play of his sharp-witted Professor. Professor Trelawney, however, ignored the jab as her eyes opened again while she looked around once more.

"But where is dear Professor Lupin?"

"I'm afraid the poor fellow is ill again." Dumbledore said, gesturing that everybody should start serving themselves, "Most unfortunate that it should happen on Christmas Day."

"But surely you already knew that, Sybil?" Professor McGonagall said, her eyebrows raised as Professor Trelawney gave Professor McGonagall a very cold look that Harry did not think the dramatic woman capable of until then.

"Certainly I knew, Minerva." Trelawney said quietly, "But one does not parade around the fact that one is All-Knowing. I frequently act as though I am not possessed of the Inner Eye, so as not to make others nervous."

"That explains a great deal." Professor McGonagall said tartly as some of the others at the table (mainly Harry, Flitwick, and Snape) smirked and chuckled at the barb.

Snape, however, stopped his amusement as a frown suddenly appeared when he glanced at Trelawney for her counter.

"Something wrong, Snape?" Harry asked as Snape glanced his way, frown deepening. But Snape, as though it were wise, glanced up at the Headmaster, seeing the old wizard watching them all from the head of the table.

"No, Potter, but things are about to spoil. I hate that." Snape said shortly as Harry was taken back, not having expected a civil reply.

"Oh, how so? I dare say they wouldn't have a row here. Just some light word-play, I suspect." Harry said, adopting the more mature and cultured self that he and his friends mocked each other with whenever they were bored.

"Yes, that would be the case… However, you don't know how badly these two despise each other." Snape said, a ghost of a smirk on his face, "It's always rather amusing. Right up until this part."

"And what part would that-"

Harry didn't get to finish as Professor Trelawney's voice suddenly became a good deal less misty with her returning barb.

"If you must know, Minerva, I have seen that poor Professor Lupin will not be with us for very long. He seems aware, himself, that his time is short. He positively fled when I offered to crystal gaze for him."

"Imagine that…" Professor McGonagall said dryly, looking almost bored as she gazed into a glass of wine.

"And here comes Dumbledore…" Snape said, and if on cue the Headmaster raised his head a bit as he spoke.

"I doubt…" Dumbledore said, in a cheerful but slightly raised voice, which put an end to Professor McGonagall and Professor Trelawney's conversation, "that Professor Lupin is in any immediate danger. Severus, you've made the potion for him again?"

"Yes, Headmaster." Snape said.

"Good." Dumbledore said, "Then he should be up and about in no time… Derek, have you had any of the chipolatas? They're excellent!"

The first-year boy went furiously red on being addressed directly by Dumbledore, and took the platter of sausages with trembling hands.

Professor Trelawney behaved almost normally until the very end of Christmas dinner, two hours later. Full to bursting with Christmas dinner and still wearing their cracker hats, Harry and Ron got up first from the table and she shrieked loudly.

"My dears! Which of you left his seat first? Which?"

"Dunno…" Ron said, looking uneasily at Harry. Harry shrugged as he glanced at Snape, who was smiling beside himself.

"_Probably thinking I'm gonna die from some crazy axe-wielding manic_." Harry thought as Professor McGonagall scoffed.

"I doubt it will make much difference, Sybil." Professor McGonagall said coldly, "You know… unless a mad axe-man is waiting outside the doors to slaughter the first into the Entrance Hall."

"Yeah… She's probably had a few." Harry said uneasily as he blinked a few times. Even Snape chuckled at both jokes while Professor Trelawney looked highly affronted, but McGonagall didn't even seem to notice the jab at her intake.

"Coming?" Harry said to Hermione.

"No…" Hermione muttered, "I want a quick word with Professor McGonagall."

Harry narrowed his eyes as Ron shrugged her off.

"She's probably trying to see if she can take any more classes. Merlin knows the hundred she has already isn't keeping to her pace." Ron said with a yawn as he and Harry made their way into the Entrance Hall, which was completely devoid of crazy axe-wielding madmen.

* * *

><p>When they reached the portrait hole they found Sir Cadogan enjoying a Christmas part with a couple of monks, several previous headmasters of Hogwarts and his fat pony. He pushed up his visor toasted them with a flagon of mead.<p>

"Happy — hic — Christmas! P-Password?"

"Scurvy cur." Ron said with a roll of his eyes.

"And the same to you, sir!" Sir Cadogan roared drunkenly, as the painting swung forward to admit them.

Harry went straight up to the dormitory, collected his Firebolt and the Broomstick Servicing Kit Hermione had given him for his birthday, brought them downstairs and tried to find something to do with the Firebolt; however, there where no bent twigs to clip, and the handle was so shiny already it seemed pointless to polish it. He and Ron simply sat admiring it from every angle, until the portrait hole opened, and Hermione came in…

… accompanied by Professor McGonagall.

"Dammit, I knew it!" Harry said, but no one seemed to notice as all eyes were on McGonagall, and McGonagall now sober gaze was on his new broom.

Though Professor McGonagall was Head of Gryffindor House, Harry had only seen her in the common room once before, and that had been to make a very grave announcement. He and Ron stared at her, both holding the Firebolt. Both knew what this was as Hermione walked around them, avoiding their gaze as best she could while she sat down and picked up the nearest book before burying her nose in it.

"So that's it, is it?" Professor McGonagall said beadily, walking over to the fireside and staring at the Firebolt, "Miss Granger has just informed me that you have been sent a broomstick, Potter."

Harry and Ron looked around at Hermione, glaring as they saw the top of her forehead reddening over the top of her book, which was upside-down.

"I've had it checked before lunch, Professor. It's safe." Harry said as Professor McGonagall glanced at him, but then locked in on the broomstick with even more of a critical gaze. Harry sighed, figuring that she probably thought he was lying to save his broom.

"May I?" Professor McGonagall said, but she didn't wait for an answer before pulling the Firebolt out of their unaware hands. She examined it carefully from handle to twig-ends, "Hmm… And there was no note at all, Mr. Potter? No card? No message of any kind?"

"No." Harry said blankly.

"I see…" Professor McGonagall said, "Well, I'm afraid I will have to take this, Potter."

Harry said nothing as he crossed his arms and raised a brow at her. From being around the likes of Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Hachi, and Soi Fon, he had learned that questioning authority hysterically or in shock was basically useless. He needed to keep his wits about him. Ron, however, didn't receive the same lessons as he scrambled to his feet.

"W-What?" Ron said, on his feet and looking like he was about to lose his best friend, "Why?"

"It will need to be checked for jinxes." Professor McGonagall said as she raised a brow at Harry's calm demeanor, "Of course, I'm no expert, but I daresay Madam Hooch and Professor Flitwick will strip it down-"

"Strip it down?" Harry and Ron repeated as though Professor McGonagall had gone mad.

"It shouldn't take more than a few weeks." McGonagall said, "You will have it back if we are _sure_ it is jinx-free."

"There's nothing wrong with it!" Harry said, his voice calm even though it was shaking slightly at the thought of anyone stripping his broom down, "Honestly, Professor-"

"You can't know that, Mr. Potter." Professor McGonagall said quite kindly, "Not until you've flown it, at any rate, and I'm afraid that is out of the question until we are certain that it has not been tampered with. I shall keep you informed."

Professor McGonagall turned on her heel and carried the Firebolt out of the portrait hole, which closed behind her. Harry stood staring after her, the tin of High-Finish Polish still clutched in his hands. Ron, however, rounded on Hermione.

"What did you go running to McGonagall for?"

Hermione threw her book aside. She was still pink in the face, but stood up and faced Ron defiantly.

"Because I thought, and Professor McGonagall agrees with me, that the broom was probably sent to Harry by Sirius Black!"

No words came from them all as the silence dominated the room.

And then-

"How the _hell_ is a supposed murder going to walk into a shop and _buy_ a damn broom!" Harry exploded, Hermione and even Ron looking stricken as they both back away from him.

Even though he had expected it, even though he thought up a counter for it, even though he had the time to hide the broom, he still couldn't keep his anger from getting to him. The most expensive present he had ever gotten, something that showed him that someone around had cared, something that made him feel special for all of the six hours he had it. Taken! To be stripped down like a defective car!

Harry's anger was nearly palpable as his body shook with rage. The air around him and all throughout the common room became heavy and thick, as though they were in a humid jungle. Hermione tried to get some air by pulling her collar away from her, but the air still wasn't much. Ron too was finding hard to breathe as he choked and coughed a bit. A faint black light wafted off of Harry with a green outline as he let his rage pour out of his every pore. He couldn't believe it! His broom, which he had checked in the first place was still gone!

Harry focused all his fury on Hermione, the full weight of his anger crashing down on the girl's shoulders while Ron relished in the ability to breathe again. Hermione's legs gave way as she sank to her knees. It was like the weight of the deep sea was slowly being placed upon her shoulders.

"_W-What… is… t-this_?" Hermione cried out mentally as she found her body not reacting to her mental cries to run away, to get up and flee.

"H-Harry!" came a voice from behind Harry as he felt someone's hand clasp his shoulder.

Harry looked back, only to see the strained face of Soi Fon looking back at him, sweat dripping from her face and her legs shakily keeping her up, "P-Please, s-stop."

Then, just like that, his rage was gone. He looked around, seeing that Ron was stretched out on the couch, sweating and gasping for air. Harry looked over Hermione, only to see her on the floor in the fetal position as her body looked pale. She was gasping for breath, as though someone had held her underwater for ages. Her entire frame shook every now and then as Harry gazed down at her with shock and horror etched into his features.

"D-Did I… Did I do _this_…?" Harry asked, dropping to his knees as he held his barely conscious friend in his lap.

"Yes, you did." Soi Fon said, taking in slightly deeper breathes.

"I… She… My broom… Oh dear Merlin, I'm sorry…" Harry said as he clutched his friend.

"D-Don't… Don't worry about them. They'll be fine, the farther away you are from them as of now." Soi Fon said, taking in one last deep breath before straightening up.

"I… No, you're right. I'm going." Harry said, laying Hermione on a couch as she finally lost consciousness. He straightened up, taking in a deep breath as he tried to push down his emotions; mainly his anger.


	10. Grim and Hollow, Part 4

_**Well, here we are; the final countdown! I don't want to waste much more time on this arc (Grim and Hollow Arc) so I've compressed six of the chapters I had planned, into two; this one and the next. So you may have noticed just how long this chapter is. Some of it may seemed a bit rushed, but that's all for plot device later. Gotta love Plot Devices!**_

_**Anyways, in this chapter, Harry will undergo some life changing decisions, have a weird dream that seems like the future, finally know why he didn't go insane and murderous living with the Dursleys, have the fright of his life, and meet his inner frat boy! Oh, and he'll grow closer to some of the characters and molest the noble Draco in public. Opps, that last one's**_** n****ext**_** chapter! Sorry... So yeah… there's even more in the chapter just waitin' for ya! So go ahead, and dig in!**_

_**Oh and one more thing, some things in this chapter may not add up to you (like the Bleach character being in it when you aren't sure they were are at the time) but please remember that they may or may not have been around and that the whole age of the Bleach Soul Society Characters is debatable until the show ends. Oh well…**_

_**Hope you enjoy.**_

**Chapter 10: Grim and Hollow, Part 4**

* * *

><p>"Man… we should have been allowed in on that vacation first, not Kuchiki and his brat." Shinji sighed out as he walked the halls of a First Division toward another Captains' meeting.<p>

"It can't be helped, Captain Kuchiki had the most convenient and liable excuse. His grandson needs to see more of the Human World, and he's near retiring. Though one can only imagine what sort of comics they have there…" Love said with a peaceful sigh as his wavy blond-haired friend patted his back.

"Don't worry, Love. We'll get our vacation time soon." Rose said giddily as he gave a dramatic sigh and spin, "I just can't wait to hear all the melodies of the Human World! It'll be so exciting!"

"Yeah, good music is hard to come by…" Shinji said as Love snorted.

"I just want some comics… and some coffee if they have any." Love said with his arms crossed.

Before anymore playful banter could be exchanged, the double doors of the Captain's Assembly room came into view. Shinji's persistent frown deepened upon his gaze landing on the doors.

"Tch, look lively now." Shinji snarked out as Love and Rose straightened their posture and held their heads high.

After all, it did not do well for three Captains of the Gotei 13 to appear as anything but fearless and powerful.

Now did it?

"I call this meeting to order." Yamamoto's powerful voice carried throughout the room as he slammed his cane to the wooden floor, the sounding echoing off the walls.

"The reason of this meeting is to deal with the persistent problem we have been having. As you well know, the details of this ordeal shall not be given nor repeated even here in this room due to such secrecy. But, note this; it is a problem none the less!" Yamamoto said, none of the Captains flinching away from the power of his spiritual pressure as they stood like pillars, "With Captain Ukitake's recent fall to illness, and Captain Kuchiki vacation time being approved by Central 46, we have the problem of keeping order within three divisions who are without Captains. I ask you now; how shall we solve this?"

"If I may, Head-Captain." Captain Unohana said as she opened her serene eyes to gaze upon the only person to have been a Captain longer than she, "With Captain Ukitake's not having a Lieutenant and Captain Kuchiki's son having died recently, along with the Tenth Divisions missing both seats because of… well, we all know. Perhaps, it would be prudent, that we should elevate one of the lower seats to at least fill the vacancy left by Squad 10."

The Head-Captain hummed in thought over the matter and the solution that was proposed. It was true that the Tenth Division had been without it's First and Second Seats for over ten years, but it was only with the mission of Hogwarts that a true problem arose in keeping up with the work and the Division under thumb. Normally, being without a few Captains and Lieutenants wouldn't have been a very big matter, but now… Now, they were just screwed over with the back-flood of paperwork.

"Your idea has merit, Captain Unohana, but the Tenth Division is without Third and Fourth Seats as well. Perhaps, we should promote the Fifth Seat to become not only the Third, but also that of Assistant Adjutant as well. This individual shall refer to my and the Captain's council on any matters that require a Captain-class approval, but otherwise will have full control of the squad until an individual with the right qualities is able to be promoted." Yamamoto said as Shunsui tipped his hat.

"Sounds like a grand idea to me! Don't worry then, Old Man Yama. I'll handle Jushiro's squad as well as my own!" Shunsui said as everyone, even Lisa who was peeking outside, turned to him in shock.

"Shunsui…" Yamamoto said, nearly letting his surprise show.

"Captain Kyoraku… doing his own work…? _And_ the work of _another_ Captain…? We really _must_ have a problem then." Shinji muttered as Rose and Love nodded on either side of him.

"Since Captain Kyoraku has shown such… _vigor_ in keeping down the chaos that threatens to engulf us, I suppose I should as well." Captain Unohana said as she smiled shyly, "I will help him in the duties of the Thirteenth Division, and my Lieutenant will help the individual of the Tenth to get up to speed in the running of their squad."

"Very good. Any others that wish to be of help?" Yamamoto asked as silence dominated the room while Lisa rolled her eyes outside. Typical of Shinji and the others…, "Very well then. We will move onto other matters."

"Other matters, sir?" Kisuke asked from his spot next to Shunsui.

"Yes. I'm afraid that their has been a spike… or rather, a heavy start, in the amount of Hollow activity near the coordinates." Yamamoto said, banging his cane once more as Lisa found herself unable to hear or see anything else.

* * *

><p>"Tch… Typical…" Lisa said as she joined from her spot and walked away, though she outstretched her hand, ripping apart the air it collided with, "Come on, Sosuke. We know where we're not wanted."<p>

The Kido young Sosuke Aizen had been hiding himself under had shattered, leaving the boy wide-eyed and shocked that a mere Lieutenant had discovered him.

"_She shouldn't have been able to see through that_." Sosuke thought as he gave a shy smile, though he was seething on the inside. Under his Kido he had not heard one thing the meeting was going on about.

He wished that he had used his Zanpakuto on them all, but he couldn't reveal that ability just yet. No, he still needed both time to master it, and the time to plan a convenient situation in which to use it.

Sosuke sighed, because for now, he'd fall Lieutenant Yadomaru, but the wheels were already turning to see what they were all hiding so strongly.

That, and he'd already used his ability on Captain Hirako. Using it on more than Shinji would create irregularities in his movements, and that would cause greater problems.

So for now, Sosuke Aizen was content to play the waiting game. He had already been playing it for over twenty years, and few more years… Hell, even a century more of time meant nothing to him.

All that mattered was that he achieved his goal, and became the God who stood alone in the Heavens…

* * *

><p>"Now then, as all ease-droppers have been dealt with, the sudden start and rise in Hollow activity near that region has been unheard of since a thousand years ago." Yamamoto said as all the Captains gave serious looks to each other.<p>

"Head-Captain, I may have an answer to this predicament." Kisuke said as the ancient Soul Reaper nodded to him.

"Then you have the floor, Captain Urahara."

"Well my fellow Captains, I believe this start in Hollow activity is due to not only the Dementors being stationed in that are, but also because of the recent large influx of spiritual energies. Beforehand we never had Captain or Lieutenant-level Soul Reapers near that area of the world due to there being no need, but with Dementor-class Hollows wandering about the area and having large quantities of spiritual energy within the grounds… Well, Mayuri's research reports was sent to you all." Kisuke said as Love nodded.

"Yeah, about that… Why is it that the Kido Corps was called in to both re-establish and enforce the barrier on that area. I had thought the personal already assigned to the area could have done that." Love said as Kisuke looked grave.

"Head-Captain, if I may."

"You have my approval, Captain Urahara. The situation has warranted it so."

"Right… Well, to answer your question, Captain Aikawa, the barrier on that particular area… Well, it shattered… like completely…"

"What? That shouldn't even be possible. We tested that barrier against Kensei's Bankai!" Love said in shock as many of the others were in shock as well.

"Yes, but that's not all. There are only a few things that could have broken that barrier-"

"Sabotage being at the top of your list?" Yoruichi asked from her spot at the start of the left line-up while Kensei grunted from his spot at the end of the right line-up.

"Yes. You all received the report on the crack that was in the barrier. As you know, it was on the complete opposite end from where the Hollows attacked on the pitch. Due to the convenient storm that was happening, they had excellent cover to attack, and they focused their attack on one being we've all heard of." Kisuke said, his voice serious an his face reflecting it. Everyone else remained quiet, not needing to voice their thoughts as they all were thinking the same thing and all were right.

"The attack was success in it's form, but didn't follow through in pact thanks to the efforts of our now sick Captain. So as I've said before; only a few things could have cracked and shattered that barrier." Kisuke finished as Shinji rubbed his chin in thought.

"The power of a Menos-class Hollow could have done it." Shinji pointed out as Kisuke nodded.

"Enough attacks to the same spot should have done it in as well." Kensei grunted out as Yoruichi nodded.

"And sabotage from the inside." Rose said quietly, his eyes closed his situations ran through his mind.

"Yes, but as for now we shall leave these culprits and their plans alone. For remember, a criminal always returns to the scene of their crime." Yamamoto said, tapping his cane to the wooden floor.

"Onto new matters. An Expedition Squad is needed to go into Hueco Mundo…"

* * *

><p>Harry had not been in the Gryffindor dorm for a total of five days since… the i-incident.<p>

Harry knew that Hermione had meant well, but that didn't stop him from being angry with her, as much as he was with himself. He had been the owner of the best broom in the world for a few short hours, and now, because of her interference, he didn't know whether he would ever see it again. He was positive that there was nothing wrong with the Firebolt now, but what sort of state would it be in once it had been subjected to all sorts of anti-jinx tests?

Ron was furious with Hermione too. As far as he was concerned, the stripping-down of a brand-new Firebolt was nothing less than criminal damage. Hermione, who remained convinced that she had acted for the best, started avoiding the common room.

Harry and Ron supposed she had taken refuge in the library and didn't try to persuade her to come back. Though Harry knew she was in there, but he also knew she was alive so he didn't go looking.

On top of that, Harry was now wallowing in self-depression and self-loathing due to him almost killed his two best friends, and even Soi Fon with just his anger. He had no clue that his being mad would… If he had known… If he hadn't stopped… Harry shuddered at the thought of even finishing those thoughts.

Byakuya was a great relief to him, not asking questions but rather trying to show Harry a brighter side of things by taking his mind off the whole ordeal with stories about the noble's life in Soul Society.

Soi Fon… well, she seemed to be constantly chewing her lower lip and avoiding his gaze whenever the two were face-to-face. She had even stopped talking to him while he mulled around the school, though Harry was glad for Draco and Colin keeping him sane and un-suicidal, though neither knew they were in fact doing just that.

Crookshanks had been trapped in the girls' dorm ever since… _it_ had happened, and Harry wasn't sure what Luna was up to since she left for holiday.

Mayuri and Ginrei had taken to quietly watching and studying him whenever he chose to reel in depression in the room of the Seventh Floor. Mayuri would take notes of something, and scan him with some kind of slug-machine thing before humming in thought and talking to himself. Ginrei had merely taken tea with him and while the two talked over the tea (a morbid affair due to Harry's mood over what happened) Harry found Ginrei staring intently at him as though he would either burst into flames, or rise from his seat claiming, "I have the power!".

Either way, Harry found that not matter what he did or where he wallowed, someone was watching him as if he were a dangerous criminal.

Though all in all, Harry was rather glad when the rest of the school returned shortly after New Year, and the castle became crowded and noisy again. Wood sought Harry out on the night before term started, finding Harry in one of the many places he had taken refuge in for both self-redemption and self-pity; the library.

"Had a good Christmas?" Wood asked, and then, without waiting for an answer, he sat down, and lowered his voice, "I've been, doing some thinking over Christmas, Harry. After last match, you know. If the Dementors come to the next one… I mean… we can't afford you to… w-well…" Wood broke off, looking awkward and very uncomfortable about whatever he had planned to say, which Harry grew to suspect was the last thing he wanted to hear.

"I'm working on it!" Harry said quickly, desperately, "Professor Lupin said he'd train me to ward off the Dementors. We should be starting this week. He said he'd have time after Christmas."

"Ah…" Wood said, his expression clearing up considerately, "Well then, in that case- I mean, I really didn't want to lose you as Seeker, Harry. And have you ordered a new broom yet?"

"No…" Harry said, his eyes cast to the floor as memories came flooding to the forefront of his mind.

Their gasping for the smallest amount of air… their sweat pooling around them… their pained expressions… their trembling bodies… the look of unmistakable fear in their eyes… Harry shuddered as he shut his eyes to the imagines, banishing them from his thoughts as he focused on Oliver Wood.

"What! You'd better get a move on, you know! You can't ride that bloody Shooting Star against Ravenclaw!"

Then, the last thing Harry wanted to hear… well, he heard it.

"He got a Firebolt for Christmas!" Ron said, having come into the library for reasons Harry couldn't fathom.

"A Firebolt? No! Seriously? A… A _real_ Firebolt?" Wood asked in both hysterical excitement and a certain degree of skepticism.

"Don't get too excited, Oliver." Harry said gloomily as he put his head in his arms, "I haven't got it anymore. It was confiscated." Harry said before he explained all about how the Firebolt was now being checked for jinxes.

"Jinxed? How could it be jinxed?"

"Sirius Black…" Harry said with his own brand of biting sarcasm, though felt incredible guilty for using it at the same time, "Apparently since he's supposed to be after me, he's walked into a broom shop in Diagon Alley and bought me the most expensive broom. So now, McGonagall reckons he might have sent it, and that he jinxed it for me to crash, or burst into flames, or… _something_."

Waving aside the information that a famous murderer was after his Seeker, Wood said, "But Black couldn't have bought a Firebolt! He's on the run! The whole country's on the lookout for him! How could he just walk into Quality Quidditch Supplies and buy a broomstick?"

"I know," said Harry, "but McGonagall still wants to strip it down-" and as soon as those words had left Harry's mouth, Wood went pale, which meant that his worst fears were plausible.

"I'll go and talk to her, Harry." Wood promised before he turned on heel and made haste while talking loudly and excitedly to himself, "I'll make her see reason… A Firebolt… a _real_ Firebolt, on _our_ team… She wants Gryffindor to win as much as I- I mean, _we_ do… I'll make her see sense. A _Firebolt_… Ha, ha!"

Harry and Ron merely watched Wood practically run from the library as soon as he had cleared the doors before they turned to one another.

"Ron, what was the name of my broom again?" Harry asked in a bored tone as Ron grinned and adopted a somber look.

"I believe it was Firebolt, Ma~ster." Ron said snobbishly, drawing the word "master" out as a servant from a book they had read once did, "But I could be mistaken, Ma~ster." Ron finished with a grin.

After a laugh and a little light chit-chat, Ron and Harry walked out of the library, though Harry was trying his hardest to apologize until Ron smacked him upside his head.

"It's not your fault… Whatever it is you keep apologizing for. So me and Hermione couldn't breathe for a few minutes, that's nothing compared to some of the life-threatening things around this school. Besides, you helped us. And how could it be your fault anyway. It's not like you took the air from our lungs?" Ron said, making light of the whole situation as he didn't want Harry roaming the school anymore. He hadn't seen Harry in days, and he wanted at least one of his best friends back.

"I… I… I'm sorry." Harry said, but quickly moved on as Ron raised his hand again, "But you're right. I… I didn't take the air from your lungs. But if I did… unknowingly… Then, I'm really sorry, mate."

"Meh, no problem, Harry. Though I'd be kinda wicked if you could stop people from breathing. You know, just like outstretch your hand and choke them with magic. I wonder if wizards can do that?" Ron said as Harry grinned, deciding to move on and apologize to Hermione later.

"Ron, my friend, allow me the pleasure of introducing you to Star Wars. You see, a long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…" Harry begin as he wrapped an arm around Ron's shoulder, while the redhead looked increasingly confused.

"Star Wars?"

* * *

><p>Classes started again the next day. The last thing anyone felt like doing was spending two hours on the grounds on a raw January morning, but Hagrid had provided a bonfire full of salamanders for their enjoyment, and they spent an unusually good lesson collecting dry wood and leaves to keep the fire blazing while the flame-loving lizards scampered up and down the crumbling, white-hot logs. Harry had found Draco close to him, sitting just behind him on another log. He and Draco held hands the entire time, while Ron was distracted with staring at Hermione. Harry had never figured out if it was to glare daggers at her or something, but he enjoyed the peace of the moment while it lasted.<p>

In the first Divination lesson of the new term… Well, it had been much less fun. Professor Trelawney was now teaching them palmistry, and she lost no time in informing Harry that he had the shortest life line she had ever seen. However, since Harry regularly chatted up with the dearly departed, he didn't much care. Though Draco did laugh at him when he recounted their first new term lesson to the blond. Draco told him that he'd have to "make their short time together count even more" right before he and Draco were snogging each other senseless in an abandoned classroom.

However, no matter with all the snogging in between classes or the fun jokes with Ron, it was still Defense Against the Dark Arts that Harry was keenest to get to; especially after his conversation with Wood, Harry had wanted to get started on his anti-Dementor lessons as soon as possible.

"Ah yes…" Lupin said, when Harry reminded him of his promise at the end of class, "Let me see… How about eight o'clock on… Thursday evening? The History of Magic classroom should be large enough, yes? I'll have to think carefully about how we're going to do this… We can't bring a real Dementor into the castle to practice on…"

That had been when Harry's spirits dimmed a bit as he walked out and met up with Ron.

"Still looks ill, doesn't he?" Ron said as they walked down the corridor, heading to dinner, "What d'you reckon's the matter with him?"

Before Harry could even say a word, there was a loud and impatient "tuh" from behind them. They both whirled on heel to see a sight that only made them frown. It was Hermione, who had been sitting at the feet of a suit of armor, repacking her bag, which was so full of books it wouldn't close.

"And what are you tutting at us for?" Ron said irritably as Harry placed a gentle hand on his friend's shoulder in warning.

"Nothing…" Hermione said in a lofty voice, heaving her bag back over her shoulder.

"Yes, you were!" Ron snapped, "I said I wonder what's wrong with Lupin, and you-"

"Well, isn't it obvious?" Hermione said condescendingly, with a look of maddening superiority.

"If you don't want to tell us, then don't!" Ron snapped harshly as Hermione went rigid for a second. Harry caught tears in her eyes, but for some reason, he couldn't bring himself to feel sorry for her this time. He had hurt her and Ron, yes, but he had and would never flaunt his supposed superior knowledge over others, especially his own friends. Having hung around people like Byakuya Kuchiki, Harry was quickly learning that those who claimed to be superior needed to be put in their place.

And this was Hermione's turn. She looked to him for some small measure of comfort, but he turned away with his eyes closed, unable to look in her direction in fear that he would sympathize with her if only a little.

Besides, she was the only one to have figured out the sickly Professor's secret, especially when Harry had friends like Mayuri Kurotsuchi to push him into reading, learning, and analyzing all things around him with glances and deductive thinking.

"F-Fine!" Hermione said haughtily as she marched off, her fists clenched around the straps of her bag.

"She doesn't know." Ron said, staring resentfully after Hermione as she stomped away, "She's just trying to get us to talk to her again."

At eight o'clock on Thursday evening, Harry left Gryffindor Tower for the History of Magic classroom. It was dark and empty when he arrived, but he lit the lamps with his wand and had waited only five minutes before Professor Lupin had turned up, carrying a large packing case, which he heaved onto Professor Binn's desk.

"What's that?" Harry asked, his eyes trained on the case before he glanced up at Lupin.

"Another Boggart." Lupin said, stripping off his cloak with a flourish and hanging it on the coat rack, "I've been combing the castle ever since Tuesday, and very luckily, I found this one lurking inside Mr. Filch's filing cabinet. It's the nearest we'll get to a real Dementor. The Boggart will turn into a Dementor when he sees you, so we'll be able to practice on him. I can store him in my office when we're not using him; there's a cupboard under my desk he'll like."

"Okay…" Harry said, trying to sound as though he wasn't apprehensive at all and merely glad that Lupin had found such a good substitute for a real Dementor.

"So…" Professor Lupin had taken out his own wand, and indicated that Harry should do the same, "The spell I am going to try and teach you is highly advanced magic, Harry… well beyond Ordinary Wizarding Level. It is called the Patronus Charm."

"How does it work?" Harry asked, ready to learn yet nervous about what he'd have to do.

"Well, when it works correctly, It conjures up a Patronus." Lupin said with a vague gesture before he pressed on awkwardly, "Well… it's sort of… It's kind of anti-Dementor; a guardian that acts as a shield between you and the Dementor."

Harry raised a brow, imagining himself crouching behind a Hagrid-sized figure which holding up a very large club to whack the Dementors with.

"The Patronus is a kind of positive force." Lupin said, pacing the floor in front the desk, "It is a projection of the very things that the Dementor feeds upon; hope, happiness, the desire to survive, the very base of the human spirit… the spirit's power… But, it cannot feel despair, as real humans can, so the Dementors can't hurt it. But I must warn you, Harry, that the charm might be too advanced for you. Many qualified wizards have difficulty with it."

"What does a Patronus look like?" Harry asked curiously.

"Each one is unique to the wizard who conjures it." Lupin responded swiftly.

"And how do you conjure it?" Harry asked, feeling his scientific interest (something he blamed Mayuri for making him acquire) peak at the possibilities.

"With an incantation, which will work only if you are concentrating, with all your might, on a single, very happy memory." Lupin said, stressing his words as Harry nodded.

"_It would seem _that's_ the hard part_." Harry thought, his face not at all reflecting his calm thoughts.

Harry cast his mind about for a happy memory. Certainly, nothing that had happened to him at the Dursleys' was going to do. Finally, he settled on the moment when he had first ridden a broomstick. That was a happy memory.

… right?

"Right." Harry said, trying to recall the exact wonderful soaring sensation of his stomach as he sped through the air on a broom.

"The incantation is this." Lupin said, clearing his throat, "Expecto Patronum"

"Expecto Patronum…" Harry repeated under his breath, "Expecto Patronum…"

"Concentrating hard on your happy memory?" Lupin asked as Harry nodded, his mind skipping a beat as he locked eyes with the shabby-robed Professor.

"Huh? Oh, yeah…" Harry said before quickly forcing his thoughts back to that first broom ride, "Expecto Patrono… no, _Patronum_ … sorry … Expecto _Patronum_, _Expecto_ _Patronum_…"

Then, before Harry's eyes, something whooshed suddenly out of the end of his wand. Something of a silvery wisp of gas.

"Did you see that?" Harry said excitedly without thought, "Something happened!"

"Very good." Lupin said smiling, "Right, then… ready to try it on a Dementor?"

"Yes." Harry said confidently, gripping his wand very tightly, and moving into the middle of the deserted classroom.

He wanted that feeling. The one he could feel radiating off of Byakuya. That confident, cool feeling that gave him assurance that he could do anything and everything was possible. He tried to keep his mind on flying, but something else kept intruding… The thought that, any second now, he might hear his mother again…

But he shouldn't think that, or he would hear her again, and he didn't want to… or _did_ he?

A Dementor rose slowly from the box, its hooded face turned toward Harry while one glistening scabbed hand gripped at its cloak. The lamps all around the classroom flickered and went out as the Dementor stepped from the box and started to sweep silently toward Harry, drawing in deep rattling breaths. A wave of piercing cold broke over Harry as he raised his wand to the creature.

"_**Expecto Patronum**_!" Harry yelled not seeing any results, "_**Expecto Patronum**_! _Expect_-…"

But the classroom and the Dementor were dissolving… And he found himself sinking… falling, just like he did before… through that thick white fog… And then it came; his mother's voice. It was louder than ever, echoing inside his head, "_Not Harry! Not Harry! Please! I'll do anything_!"

"_Stand aside! Stand aside, you foolish girl_!"

"_Harry_!"

Harry jerked back to life. His eyes wide and his breath just as ragged as ever. He was lying flat on his back on the floor, the classroom lamps were alight again, and he didn't have to ask what had happened.

"Sorry…" Harry muttered, not bothering to make an excuse as he sat up, cold sweat trickling down between his glasses and from his hair.

"Are you all right?" Lupin asked, no small amount of concern in his voice as Harry nodded his head. He had to admit that he was slowly growing used to having the cold feeling sit in his stomach, the empty void in his emotions after a while before they returned. Yes, he was slowly growing accustomed to the Dementor's presence…

… and that frightened him more than anything.

"Yeah, I'm fine…" Harry said quietly as he pulled himself up on one of the desks, leaning against it as his words filled the silent room.

"Umm… Here." Lupin said quickly, handing Harry a Chocolate Frog, "Eat this before we try again. I didn't expect you to do it your first time; in fact, I would have been astounded if you had."

"Hmm… It's getting worse…" Harry muttered, biting off the frog's head, "I could hear her louder that time… and him- Voldemort… he…" Harry trailed off as he glanced up at his teacher.

Lupin looked paler than usual.

"Harry, if you don't want to continue, I will more than understand-"

"I do!" Harry said fiercely, stuffing the rest of the Chocolate Frog into his mouth, "I've got to! What if the Dementors turn up at our match against Ravenclaw? I can't afford to fall off again. If we lose this game we've lost the Quidditch Cup!"

"All right then…" Lupin said with a sigh, running a hand through his graying hair, "You might want to select another memory though; a happy- I mean _happier_ memory… I mean, to concentrate on. That one doesn't seem to have been strong enough…"

Harry thought hard, deciding that his feelings when Gryffindor had won the House Cup last year had definitely qualified as very happy. He gripped his wand tightly again and took up his position in the middle of the classroom.

"Ready?" Lupin asked, gripping the box lid.

"Ready." Harry said; trying hard to fill his head with happy thoughts about Gryffindor winning, and not the dark ones centered around what was going to happen when the box opened.

"Go!" Lupin said, pulling off the lid. The room went icily cold and dark once more. The Dementor glided forward, drawing its breath; one rotting hand was extending toward Harry-

"_**Expecto Patronum**_!" Harry yelled, "**Expecto Patronum**! _E-Expecto Patro_…"

White fog obscured his senses… big, blurred shapes were moving around him… then came a new voice; a man's voice. It sounded loud, shouting… panicking…

"_Lily, you take Harry and go! It's him! Go! Run! I'll hold him off_-"

_The sounds of someone stumbling from a room… a door bursting open… a cackle of high- pitched laughter… a fierce battle_-

"Harry! Harry… wake up…"

Harry's eyes opened groggily as he saw Lupin was tapping hard on the face. He couldn't really feel it though. This time, with some detached interest, it was a minute before Harry understood why he was lying on a dusty classroom floor… and the fact itself that he was indeed lying on a cold classroom floor.

"I heard my dad this time…" Harry mumbled as he drew his legs into his arms while Lupin knelt in front of him, "That's the first time I've ever heard him… He was trying… He tried to take on Voldemort himself, to give my mum time to run for it… It sounded like he did some damage…"

"Of course he did… There was nothing more important to James than Lily, and you too pup, when you came around… He'd protect you two as fiercely as he could…"

Harry looked up quickly, suddenly realizing that it was Professor Lupin who had spoken those oh so quiet heart-stricken words, and that there were tears on the man's face mingling with the sweat. Harry bent his face into his knees as low as possible, wiping away his own tears off on his robes, pretending to do up his shoelace, so that Lupin wouldn't see.

"You h-heard… J-James?" Lupin said after clearing his throat and standing up to full height. Harry noted the strange and strangled tone of voice that the man used.

"Yeah…" Harry said lowly, his words still loud within the silent room. Having dried his face, Harry looked up at his professor, "Why…? You didn't… You didn't _know_ my dad… did you, Professor?"

"I… Yes… Yes, I did, as a matter of fact." Lupin said with much conflict in his voice before he sighed and sat on a desktop, "We were friends at Hogwarts. Listen, Harry — perhaps we should leave it here for tonight. This charm… Harry, it is ridiculously advanced… I… I shouldn't have even suggested putting you through this-"

"No!" Harry said, getting up again as he felt a warmth spread through him. It was like his power was returning quicker than ever with his determination to never have to deal with another Dementor again, "I'm not giving up! I'll have one more go at it! I'm not thinking of happy enough things, that's what it is… Just… Just hang on a moment…"

Harry racked his brains for a really, really happy memory… One that he could turn into a good, strong Patronus…

The moment when he'd first found out he was a wizard, and would be leaving the Dursleys for Hogwarts! If that wasn't a happy memory, he didn't know what was… but, no… No, he would use something else. He'd use the moment when he found himself with Draco… Yeah, that was happy. Harry had never felt so good in his life before then. To know that someone loved him and wanted to be with him. He hadn't thought much of the relationship then, but now… Now he concentrated hard on how he had felt when he'd realized the depths of Draco's feelings for him. How he smiled in the bathroom mirror like some ditsy girl crushing on a boy. How he danced with Hermione and Ron later that same night as he pretended they were Draco.

Harry got to his feet as he felt warmth spread and seep from his every pore. He turned to a slightly stunned Lupin as he faced the packing case once more.

"R-Ready?" Lupin asked, with a look as though he were doing this against his better judgment, "Concentrating hard? Good… Alright then… Go!"

Lupin yelled his last word as he pulled off the lid of the case for the third time, and the Dementor rose out of it; the room fell cold and dark-

"_**EXPECTO PATRONUM**_!" Harry bellowed mightily as he raised his wand to the dark figure which glided toward him.

The screaming inside Harry's head had started again… except this time, it sounded as though it were coming from a badly tuned radio. It was softer and louder and softer again… and he could still see the Dementor… It had halted… a huge, silver shadow came bursting out of the end of Harry's wand, hovering between him and the Dementor. And though Harry's legs felt like jelly in water, he was still on his feet… though for how much longer; even he wasn't sure…

"_**Riddikulus**_!" Lupin roared, springing forward with his wand raised high.

There was a loud crack, and Harry's cloudy Patronus vanished along with the Dementor. Harry didn't bother with celebrating just then as he sank into a chair, feeling exhausted as if he'd just run a mile, and felt his legs shaking. He could feel the energy, the power he had once had pouring out of him dimly. Even his normal level of energy was at a low, as Harry sighed tiredly.

Then, out of the corner of his eye, he saw Professor Lupin forcing the Boggart back into the packing case with his wand; it had turned into a silvery orb again, but this time Harry got a better look at it, and his suspicions were confirmed.

It was the moon.

"Excellent!" Lupin said, striding over to where Harry sat, "Excellent, Harry! That was definitely a start!"

"Can we have another go? Just one more go?" Harry said, trying to rise for another bout, but fell back into the chair weakly.

"No, not now." Lupin said firmly, "You've had enough for one night. Here." Lupin said as he handed Harry a large bar of Honeydukes' best chocolate, "Eat the lot, or Madam Pomfrey will be after my blood. Same time next week?"

"Yeah… Okay." Harry said with his eyes closed, taking a bite of the chocolate and watching as Lupin extinguished the lamps that had rekindled with the disappearance of the Dementor.

Then a thought occurred to him, and even though hanging around people like Mayuri and Soi Fon had taught him better than to bring up facts that would upset others, Harry didn't much care in his weakened state.

"Professor Lupin?" Harry said, "If you knew my dad, you must've known Sirius Black as well."

And as soon as the words had left his mouth, Lupin turned very quickly with wild eyes scanning Harry.

"What gives you that idea?" Lupin said sharply as Harry steadied himself and gave the man a cool gaze.

"Nothing. I just knew that they were friends at Hogwarts too…" Harry said coolly, as Lupin's face relaxed.

"Yes… Yes, I knew him." Lupin said shortly, almost sadly, "Or… I thought I did. You'd better be off, Harry, it's getting late."

* * *

><p>Harry left the classroom, feeling his energy quickly return to him as he walked along the corridor and around a corner. Then, Harry took a detour up a set of stairs while finishing his chocolate. He wished now that he hadn't mentioned Black to Lupin, as the man was obviously not keen on the subject. He should have followed his silent lessons learned from the past…<p>

Harry made his way up another flight of stairs as his thoughts wandered back to his mother and father…

He felt drained and strangely empty, even though he was so full of chocolate. As terrible as it was for him to hear his parents' last moments replaying inside his head; they were the only times Harry had heard their voices since he was a very small child, a child of maybe two years-old. But he'd never be able to produce a proper Patronus if he half-wanted to hear his parents again…

"They're _dead_." Harry told himself sternly, "They're _dead_ and listening to echoes of them _won't_ bring them back. You'd better get a grip on yourself if you want that Quidditch Cup."

He reached the top of the fourth flight of stairs as he crammed the last bit of chocolate into his mouth, and headed up another flight.

"Harry!" a voice said as Harry looked up from the wrapper he was crumbling up and saw Byakuya rushing toward him.

"Byakuya!" Harry said, his voice a mix of excitement, surprise, and mild confusion. To be honest, aside from Soi Fon and her ninjas, Harry had never seen any of the others outside the room on the Seventh Floor, "W-What are you doing here? Out of there?"

"Grandfather allowed me to find you. I was focusing on you're spiritual pressure for a while, but the then spiked and I was a bit overwhelmed. When it went low; lower than I had ever felt it, I rushed out of the room to find you physically." Byakuya said as Harry sighed and nodded, "So… where's the demon cat's servant?"

"Lady Yoruichi is _not_ a demon cat lady!" Soi Fon yelled, appearing behind Harry while she aimed a deadly glare at Byakuya.

"Yes she is! She's always stealing my things and interrupting my training! She harasses and sexually assaults me at every turn, and she forces me to play her games! She terrorizes me, and I wish she'd stop!" Byakuya yelled back as he and Soi Fon stepped closer.

"Yoruichi-sama would do no such things! She is a respectable member of the Soul Society and a Captain of the Gotei 13! Do not make such lies and slander against her or I'll be forced to terminate you." Soi Fon said frostily as Byakuya grinned evilly, shouldering his wooden sword (which Harry learned was a practice blade for Kendo). Harry realized that Byakuya must have really gotten to Soi Fon as the girl had unconsciously been mixing some Japanese in her words that Harry was having trouble understanding.

"_You_ terminate _me_? Ha! Not when my Flash-step exceeds that of the famed Flash Goddess herself!" Byakuya said as Soi Fon's fists clenched at her sides.

"_You_ surpass _Yoruichi-sama_? A claim like that shall not go unpunished!" Soi Fon said, preparing herself for a sprint as she placed a hand where her sword rested horizontally on the back of her waist, "Prepare yourself, Byakuya Kuchiki."

Byakuya assumed the same stance, though Harry noted quickly that his seemed more relaxed and practiced than Soi Fon's.

"Don't think I'll take it easy on you, Servant of the Cat Demon." Byakuya said as Harry quickly determined he had been forgotten about.

"Guys! You can't fight here!" Harry said, but his words were ignored as the two disappeared from his sight and reappeared, steel blades clashing against one another.

Wait… _steel_ blades?

Harry's eyes widened as he saw the gleam from the steel blade that was now gripped tightly in Byakuya's hand. Before he could even utter a word to stop them, they had disappeared once again. Harry could only sigh as he saw them reappear on the other end of the Fifth Floor corridor. He nearly forgot that he was the only person who was able to see and hear them, but still, just letting them fight was out of the question.

So with that in mind, Harry concentrated on them. Then, for a second, he saw them moving- running toward each other with their blades held high to cut down the other. He saw that Byakuya was moving somewhat faster than Soi Fon was, and he could already see that the girl would be cut down with extreme prejudice if he didn't move.

And so, he did. He had no clue how he did, but he did. He had been at the other end of the hallway when he saw them, and a second later after running with all his might, he had appeared there; in between the two blades with Byakuya's sword caught in his hand. Though there was a shallow cut on his palm from having caught the sword, it didn't matter as he stopped Soi Fon from being sliced in half by the young noble's blade.

Wait… Soi Fon!

Harry turned around quickly, noting the shock on Soi Fon's face and the horro in her eyes as he sword was mere inches from impacting him with no way of stopping it. Byakuya's eyes were wide and his mouth a gape at not only the fact that Harry had got between them, but the fact that Harry had stopped his sword with only a hand… only to be cut down by Soi Fon's sword.

The blade drew closer and closer to Harry. It was like watching everything happen in slow motion. Soi Fon couldn't stop her swing in time, Byakuya's eyes were wide as a silent scream escaped him, and Harry was staring at the blade that threatened to bisect him with a sort of detached horror and interest. And just when it was about to sink into his robes and collarbone-

"Phew... that was a close one." a voice said as it released a sigh of relief, "Almost thought we didn't make it in time."

Harry looked up, having not blinked, but still missing it as Jushiro held Soi Fon's arm back and Ginrei had a hand on the trembling girl's shoulder to further pacify the attack.

"Jushiro…? Ginrei…?" Harry said in awe and confusion. He hadn't even seen them coming like he had been able to see Byakuya and Soi Fon not moments ago.

"Oh, hiya Harry!" Jushiro greeted with a small wave while Ginrei grunted a gruff greeting.

"Now then, what's all this then?" Ginrei asked as he and Jushiro released Soi Fon while Harry unconsciously let go of Byakuya's sword, which had turned wooden once again.

Before Harry or Soi Fon could get over the shock of the two white coat-clad men stopping Soi Fon and Byakuya from practically murdering Harry, Byakuya had bowed deeply.

"Please forgive us, Grandfather, Captain Ukitake. It's all my fault. I and Lady Soi Fon here were having a bit of a spar and Harry must have thought us serious. He managed to get between us, and then…" Byakuya trailed off as he gripped the wooden Kendo blade tighter.

"Hmm… I see." Jushiro said as Ginrei nodded, "Well then, there's not real harm done."

Yes, Captain Ukitake is right." Ginrei said, eyes on Harry as he spoke, "Though you may wanna be more careful Harry. Getting between two skilled fighter is dangerous. Though the Flash-step and being able to grasp Byakuya's sword mid-swing are both impressive feats for one such as you are now, they were dangerous to do for the first time in such a situation."

"Yes, Harry, please be more careful." Jushiro said as Harry stared at them all in shock.

They nearly killed each other for sport, and they were telling him to be more careful? Harry didn't know whether to be offended or laugh at the irony of the situation as he felt a cool liquid in his hand. Harry raised his left hand and saw the blood slowly drip from the cut in the mid of his palm. Jushiro gasped and Byakuya sucked in air much the same way as they all laid eyes on the cut.

"Here, let me." Soi Fon said quietly, not meeting Harry's eyes as she took his hand in her own and before Harry could protest, he felt a wave of energy rise from Soi Fon as her hands began to glow a passive green color that Harry could only associate with medicine.

"So wait, you guys spar by nearly killing one another?" Harry asked as Soi Fon was healing him. He watched in amazement as the cut in the middle of his hand healed slowly, leaving a small and barely noticeable scar.

"Harry, you may not realize it or not, but we're souls. We heal quickly, and even with life-threatening wounds, we're able to at least fight another round before we lose consciousness. Me and Soi Fon aren't strong enough to deal many fatal wounds to each other. IT was more of a race than an actual fight." Byakuya said as Harry shook his head.

"I've only even had to use a sword once in my life, and that was to kill a giant snake that would have terrorized the school and killed other people with just it's gaze. After that, and having that memory stay with me, I won't draw a sword on another person until I made my intentions clear. If it was just a friendly tussle, I'd use that wooden sword, but a real fight… If I ever have to use an actual sword ever again, I'd fight with it to kill." Harry said quietly, his eyes down on the now healed cut in his hand as he flexed the appendage.

"Hmm… Perhaps we need a change of topic before we venture into unpleasant territory." Ginrei said as Jushiro nodded, "Why don't you three kids go play about the school for a while. Captain Ukitake and I need our rest."

"Jushiro…" Harry said, wanting to tell the man a million things, but stopped when he heard the man break down into a coughing fit.

"You and he will speak later, Harry. For now, let him rest from all this excitement." Ginrei said as he placed a hand on Jushiro's shoulder and the two disappeared.

Harry, Soi Fon, and Byakuya stared at each other for a long while before Soi Fon sunk back into the shadows. Harry only sighed as he and Byakuya went to the Gryffindor dorm and rested.

* * *

><p>Byakuya had stayed with Harry whenever Harry wasn't in classes. Ravenclaw played Slytherin a week after the start of term with Slytherin taking the win, though only narrowly as Harry liked to remind Draco. According to Wood, this was good news for Gryffindor, who would could tie for first place should they beat Ravenclaw too. He therefore increased the number of team practices to five a week. This meant that with Lupin's anti-Dementor classes, which in themselves were more draining than six Quidditch practices, Harry had just one night a week to do all his homework. Though he couldn't quite complain since he had been doing his homework with the help of Mayuri and Byakuya.<p>

Even so, Harry refused to show the strain nearly as much as Hermione, whose immense workload finally seemed to be getting to her. After Ron had convinced him to return to the tower, every night, without fail, Hermione could be seen in a corner of the common room, several tables spread with books, Arithmancy charts, rune dictionaries, diagrams of Muggles lifting heavy objects, and file upon file of extensive notes; she barely spoke to anybody and snapped when she was interrupted from her work.

"How's she doing it?" Ron muttered to Harry as they sat finishing a nasty essay on Undetectable Poisons for Snape while Byakuya read to Harry aloud from the textbook. Harry looked up from his work and Byakuya stop as all three looked over to where Hermione was, the bushy-haired girl being barely visible behind a tottering pile of books.

"Doing what?" Harry asked without interest, even though he knew exactly what Ron was getting at.

"Getting to all her classes!" Ron whispered in annoyance, "I heard her talking to Professor Vector, that Arithmancy witch, this morning. They were going on about yesterday's lesson, but Hermione can't have… _couldn't_ have been there, because she was with us in Care of Magical Creatures! And Ernie McMillan told me she's never missed a Muggle Studies class, but half of them are at the same time as Divination, and she's never missed one of them either!"

"An you're sure there are no spells or anything that mess with time or cloning?" Harry asked as Ron hesitated, but then shook his head.

"There's one that I know about, but she couldn't have gotten one. If she did, then… No, she couldn't have. The Ministry wouldn't give one just so someone could get to classes." Ron said as Harry and Byakuya raised a brow each.

"What is it?" Harry asked as Ron sighed.

"Well, the only thing that is allowed to mess with time is a Time-turner. Though for her to have one, it'd have to be something real important-like. The Ministry doesn't just hand them out." Ron said as Harry shrugged, going back to his word, but keeping the word Timer-turner in his memory for later.

He didn't have time to fathom the mystery of Hermione's impossible schedule at the moment; he really needed to get on with Snape's essay. Two seconds later, however, he was interrupted again, this time by Wood.

"Bad news, Harry. I've just been to see Professor McGonagall about the Firebolt. She…er well… She got a bit shirty with me. Told me I'd got my priorities wrong. Seemed to think I cared more about winning the Cup than I do about you staying alive. Just because I told her I didn't care if it threw you off, as long as you caught the Snitch first."

Wood shook his head in disbelief as Byakuya looked confused and horrified, "Honestly, the way she was yelling at me… you'd think I'd said something terrible. Then I asked her how much longer she was going to keep it…" Wood screwed up his face and imitated Professor McGonagall's severe voice, "As long as necessary, Mr. Wood!"… I reckon it's time you ordered a new broom, Harry. There's an order form at the back of Which Broomstick… you could get a Nimbus Two Thousand and One, like Malfoy's got."

"I'm not buying anything Draco's thinks is good. He'll make a big deal out of it, and tease me while thinking I'm trying to imitate him." Harry said flatly, still not having told Draco or the others who didn't know about the Firebolt since he didn't know if he'd even get it back in one piece.

"Fine, but think about it. You can't ride that old school broom forever." Wood said as he walked off. Harry only sighed as he traded looks with Byakuya before he went back to his work.

"You know, these Potions are fascinating. They're like the organic work that the Department of Research and Development do with Soul Society's technology." Byakuya said, reading ahead as he recited the book to Harry.

"Uh huh… yeah… interesting…" Harry said, his nose nearly to the essay as he hurried through it.

* * *

><p>January faded imperceptibly into February, with no change in the bitterly cold weather. The match against Ravenclaw was drawing nearer and nearer, but Harry still hadn't ordered a new broom. He was now asking Professor McGonagall for news of the Firebolt after every Transfiguration lesson, Ron standing hopefully at his shoulder, Hermione rushing past with her face averted. Byakuya always waited outside his classes, standing beside the doorway respectfully.<p>

"No, Mr. Potter, you cannot have it back yet." Professor McGonagall told him the twelfth time he came to ask, even before he'd opened his mouth, "We've checked for most of the usual curses, but Professor Flitwick believes the broom might be carrying a Hurling Hex. I shall tell you once we've finished checking it. Now, please stop badgering me."

To make matters even worse, Harry's anti-Dementor lessons were not going nearly as well as he had hoped. Several sessions on, he was able to produce an indistinct, silvery shadow every time the Boggart-Dementor approached him, but his Patronus was too feeble to drive the Dementor away. All it did was hover, like a semi-transparent cloud, draining Harry of energy as he fought to keep it there. Harry felt angry with himself, guilty about his secret desire to hear his parents' voices again.

"You're expecting too much of yourself." Professor Lupin said sternly in their fourth week of practice, "For a 13 year-old wizard, even an indistinct Patronus is a huge achievement. You aren't passing out anymore, are you?"

"I thought a Patronus would… charge the Dementors down or something…" Harry said dispiritedly as he kept his gaze from meeting his Professor's eyes, " You know… Make them disappear…"

"The true Patronus does do that, yes." Lupin said, "But you've achieved a great deal in a very short space of time. If the Dementors put in an appearance at your next Quidditch match, you will be able to keep them at bay long enough to get back to the ground or for help to arrive."

Harry stiffened slightly as he suddenly remembered the charm bracelet he had stuffed in his robe pocket. He wasn't sure if the thing would still work after the Dementors had shattered the protective shield which had kept the Dementors at bay for the short time it did. He'd have to find and thank Luna at some point.

Then Harry's thoughts drifted to Jushiro… Harry hung his head as he remembered how his white-haired Soul Reaper friend had defended him against the Dementors with sword in hand. And as much as Harry hated to admit it.

It was dying to learn how to use his magic in more than a way to simply repel the Dementors. In the darkest reaches of his heart, he wanted to wipe out the Dementors and make them disappear from the world… and he hated himself from having those kinds of thoughts…

"You said it's harder if there are loads of them…" Harry said, suddenly remembering that he and Professor Lupin were speaking.

"I have complete confidence in you." Lupin said, smiling as though he was sure Harry could do anything.

"_I'm sure you can do anything you set your mind to, so long as you have your pride to protect_." the words rang in Harry's mind as he smiled at the impressing words of his friend.

"_Remember, young Harry, in order to protect your pride, you'll need more than one trick up your sleeve. Become a Jack of all trades, and then rest easy knowing you'll always have one thing to hold back as your hidden power in which to better protect your pride_." Ginrei had once said during one of their tea times. It hadn't meant much to Harry then, because of his mood, but now he swallowed the lump in his throat as he had thoughts of his own.

"_Maybe… Maybe becoming their liaison wouldn't be so bad after all. Maybe I'll finally be able to protect my friends from Voldemort instead of running from him… Maybe I'll be able to be the one on the attack for once_." Harry thought as Lupin rose and went over to his briefcase.

"Here, you've earned a drink. Something from the Three Broomsticks. You won't have tried it before." Lupin said as he pulled two bottles out of his briefcase.

"Butterbeer!" Harry said, without thinking, "Yeah, I like the stuff!"

Lupin raised an eyebrow as Harry shrugged coolly.

"Ron and Hermione brought me some back from Hogsmeade. It was good, though they said it was better fresh." Harry lied quickly and easily, blaming the act on Mayuri, Byakuya, and Draco's collective influences on him.

"I see." Lupin said, though he still looked slightly suspicious.

"Well then, let's drink to a Gryffindor victory against Ravenclaw! Not that I'm supposed to take sides, as a teacher…" Lupin added hastily after replaying his words mentally.

They drank the butterbeer in silence… that was, until Harry voiced something he'd been wondering for a while.

"Professor… What's under a Dementor's hood?" Harry asked as a cold chill seemed to go through the room.

Professor Lupin lowered his bottle thoughtfully.

"Hmmm… well, the only people who really know… Well, they're in no condition to tell us. You see, the Dementor lowers its hood only to use its last and worst weapon."

"What's that?" Harry asked, leaning forward curiously.

"They call it the Dementor's Kiss." Lupin said with a slightly twisted smile that Harry had seen Mayuri with after a particularly interesting experiment, "It's what Dementors do to those they wish to destroy utterly. I suppose there must be some kind of mouth under there, because they clamp their jaws upon the mouth of the victim and… and suck out the soul."

Harry accidentally spat out a bit of butterbeer as he stared up at his teacher with wide eyes.

"What they k-kill-"

"Oh no." Lupin said, "It is much worse than that. The living can exist without their soul, you know. So long as your brain and heart are still working. But you'll have no sense of self anymore, no memory, no… anything. There's no chance at all of recovery. You'll just exist. As an empty shell. And your soul is gone forever… lost in a darkness I wish not upon anyone."

Lupin drank a little more butterbeer, then said, "It's the fate that awaits Sirius Black. It was in the Daily Prophet this morning. The Ministry have given the Dementors permission to perform it if they find him."

Harry sat stunned for a moment at the idea of someone having their soul sucked out through their mouth. But then he thought of Black.

"Tell me Harry… Do you think he deserves it?" Lupin asked as he gazed down at Harry.

"I… I don't know." Harry said, having been suddenly put on the spot.

"Do you really think _anyone_ deserves that?" Lupin asked lightly as he put down his mug. Harry stared into his own mug, thinking hard.

If anyone deserved their soul sucked out, Voldemort would have been at the top of the list, but… Could he say that someone deserved their soul, the little goodness Voldemort might have left inside that blackened thing, sucked from him to live a life without… well, _life_?

"I don't kn-… Yes." Harry said, deciding that the way he felt wouldn't truly matter since he and Professor Lupin weren't that close, "Yes, for… for some things…"

He would have liked to have told Lupin about the conversation he'd overheard about Black in the Three Broomsticks. About Black betraying his mother and father, but it would have involved revealing that he'd gone to Hogsmeade without permission, and he knew Lupin wouldn't be very impressed by that. So he finished his butterbeer, thanked Lupin, and left the History of Magic classroom. Keeping all his thoughts to himself.

* * *

><p>"So, how'd it go?" Byakuya asked, flash-stepping (as Harry had come to know of the disappearing and reappearing act) to his side while Soi Fon followed them with her "Shadow-stalking" act.<p>

Harry told Byakuya about the lesson and the chat he had with Lupin.

"I wish you hadn't told me that last part." Byakuya said, looking a bit pale and shaky. Harry surmised that he was having a difficult time thinking about it, since he was all soul after all. To be eaten by something as foul as a Dementor… Harry shuddered at the thought.

"I half-wished that _I_ hadn't asked myself…" Harry muttered, thinking back to the conversation. The answer to that question had been so horrible, and he was so lost in unpleasant thoughts of what it would feel like to have your soul sucked out of you that he had almost walked headlong into Professor McGonagall halfway up the stairs. Thankfully, Byakuya had pulled him aside just in the nick of time.

"Do watch where you're going, Mr. Potter! You nearly bowled this old woman over." McGonagall said with a hand over her heart.

"I'm so sorry, Professor." Harry apologized, as Professor McGonagall straightened herself.

"I've just been looking for you in the Gryffindor common room. Well, here it is, we've done everything we could think of, and there doesn't seem to be anything wrong with it at all… Just like you said, Mr. Potter. I must apologize for not taking your word for it when you said you had it checked. You've got very good friends somewhere, Mr. Potter; one to send you this, and another to check it."

Harry's jaw dropped while Byakuya snickered at him from the side. She was holding out his Firebolt, and it looked as magnificent as ever. McGonagall cut her cat-like eyes toward Byakuya's spot, but the boy slapped his hands over his mouth. Harry hadn't stopped staring at his broom, but took note of the sudden way McGonagall scanned the spot Byakuya was.

"Did you hear something, Mr. Potter? I could have sworn I heard snickering, and students should know better than to spy upon others whilst under invisibility cloak." McGonagall said sternly, looking directly at Byakuya before she scanned the stairway and listened hard.

" I didn't hear anything. So, I can have it back?" Harry said, quickly moving on, "Seriously?"

"Yes, _seriously_, Mr. Potter." Professor McGonagall said with a roll of her eyes and an actual smile on her normal stern face, "I daresay, you'll need to get the feel of it before Saturday's match, won't you? And Potter… do try and win, won't you? Or we'll be out of the running for the _eighth_ year in a row, as Professor Snape was _kind_ enough to remind me only last night…"

"Ahh, yes… Professor Snape _would_ be so kind. And we definitely don't want to make him a prophet, now do we?" Harry said casually, though he felt almost speechless as he told his Firebolt broom into his hands.

"See you in class, Mr. Potter, and happy flying." McGonagall said as she walked away, leaving Harry to stare at his broom as though it'd disappear and Byakuya to give Harry a deadpan look.

"You sure are excited over just some _broom_." Byakuya said as Harry shook his head.

"You don't understand it, Byakuya. This broom and a wand are to us, like those swords and white coats to you guys; every kids wants them when they grow up and they want the best. Come on, I've got some showing off to do." Harry said, carrying the Firebolt back upstairs toward Gryffindor Tower. As he turned a corner, he and Byakuya saw Ron dashing toward them, grinning from ear to ear.

"Okay, that's almost as creepy as that guy from the Department of Research." Byakuya said as Harry subtly smacked him.

"Leave Ron and Mayuri alone, they're both good people… well, at least Ron is." Harry whispered as Ron stopped in front of them.

"She gave it to you? _Excellent_! Listen, can I still have a go on it? Tomorrow? Please, Harry?"

"Yeah, Ron… anything…" Harry said, his heart lighter than it had been in a month. "You know what; we should make up with Hermione… She was only trying to help…"

"Tch, you just say that 'cause you miss her as your friend, and you need more help getting your homework done quicker, what with this guy being useless." Byakuya said with a smirk as he jabbed a thumb in Ron's direction. Harry simply smiled as he turned to look at something, accidentally hitting Byakuya again… with his broom.

"Yeah, all right." Ron said with a sigh as he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder, "She's in the common room now working… You know, trying something different for a change."

"You're horrible." Harry said as Ron grinned again.

"You love it."

Ron turned on heel as he and Harry walked into the corridor to Gryffindor Tower, only to see Neville Longbottom pleading with Sir Cadogan, who seemed to be refusing him entrance.

"I wrote them down!" Neville said tearfully, probably not wanting to get locked out of the tower again like so many other times, "But I must've dropped them somewhere!"

"A likely tale!" Sir Cadogan roared before, spotting Harry and Ron, "Good eve, my fine young yeomen! Come clap this loon in irons. He is trying to force entry to the chambers within!"

"Oh, shut up." Ron said as he and Harry drew level with Neville. Byakuya raised an eyebrow at the portrait, but that was nothing new to Harry as Byakuya did it every time he followed Harry into the dorm.

"I've lost the passwords!" Neville told them miserably, "I made him tell me what passwords he was going to use this week, because he keeps changing them, and now I don't know what I've done with them!"

Harry stared at Neville with his mouth agape. He didn't mean to, but for Neville to have lost the passwords would surely cause some trouble for the Gryffindor house. If Ravenclaw got that list, then they could sneak in and do some brainy things that would stop the team from playing. If a Slytherin got them, then Harry could only imagine the horror. If Draco got to those passwords… well, Harry hoped Draco got to those passwords, but…

If Sirius Black got to those passwords… No, Harry shook his head. It was a one in a million chance of happening. Sirius Black would never be able to get into the castle, and simply stumble upon a list of passwords. No, not even by magic would such an event of chance occur.

"Oddsbodkins" Harry said to Sir Cadogan, shaking his previous thought from his head. Sir Cadogan looked extremely disappointed while he reluctantly swung forward to let them into the common room. There was a sudden, excited murmur as every head turned and the next moment, as Byakuya blinked, Harry was surrounded by people exclaiming over his Firebolt.

"Where'd you get it, Harry?"

"Will you let me have a go?"

"Have you ridden it yet, Harry?"

"Ravenclaw will have no chance! Ha, ha! They're all on Cleansweep Sevens!"

"Can I just hold it, Harry?"

After ten minutes or so, during which the Firebolt was passed around and admired from every angle, the crowd dispersed and Harry and Ron had a clear view of Hermione, the only person who hadn't rushed over to them, bent over her work and carefully avoiding their eyes. Harry and Ron exchanged looks as Byakuya rooled his eyes, hitting Harry in the back.

"Go on. You need to kiss and make up." Byakuya mocked, making kissing faces as he puckered his lips and swooned over an imaginary girl.

"Whatever you say, _Byaku-chan."_ Harry said, liking the ticked off look he always got from his friend thanks to Ginrei.

"Dammit, I'm a _boy_, not a _girl_! Or were you calling me little Byakuya…? Dammit, I'm _not_ _little_. I'm not _either_, dammit! Dammit, dammit, _dammit_!" Byakuya shouted as he tore at his own hair and flopped down on the couch in front of the fireplace.

Harry only grinned as he and Ron approached Hermione's table and at last, she looked up at.

"I got it back." Harry said, still grinning as he held up the Firebolt.

"See, Hermione? There wasn't anything wrong with it! Just like Harry said." Ron said as Hermione frowned somewhat.

"Well… there might have been!" Hermione said with her arms crossed.

"But Harry had it checked out. We already knew there was nothing wrong with it before you went and took things, _which didn't concern you_, into your own hands." Ron said in a very civil and calm tone that only seemed to piss Hermione off more.

"I mean, at least you know now that it's safe!" Hermione yelled as Ron grinned at her. Harry merely shook his head in amusement. Ron was obviously savoring the feeling of Hermione being wrong while Hermione was being as stubborn as a giant boulder going up a hill.

"You know if you just admit you're wrong _sometimes_…" Ron teased as Hermione narrowed her eyes at him.

"I was _not_ wrong." Hermione said thickly, wrinkling her nose up at him.

"Yeah, yeah, I suppose so…" Harry said with a roll of his eyes while Byakuya snickered in the background.

"Did you hear something." Hermione asked as the common room went silent.

"Yeah, it was sort of like someone was laughing." Ron said, looking around.

"Probably just one of the others messin' around." Harry said with a shrug, shooting Byakuya a look as he shrugged in confusion, "I'd better put this beauty upstairs."

"I'll take it!" Ron said eagerly, "I've got to give Scabbers his rat tonic."

Harry only chuckled as he handed his broom off to Ron, who took the Firebolt (holding it as if it were made of glass), and carried it away up the boys' staircase.

"Can I sit down then, Your Rightness?" Harry asked Hermione mockingly as she glared at him before making a vague gesture.

"I suppose so." Hermione said, moving a great big stack of parchment off a chair.

"Whoa!" Byakuya whispered to Harry, "That's more than Grandfather does in paperwork!"

Harry looked around at the cluttered table after hearing Byakuya, sure enough, there was a lot of work Hermione had been doing. A rather long Arithmancy essay on which the ink was still glistening, an even _longer_ Muggle Studies essay ('Explain Why Muggles Need Electricity'), and then some rune translation Hermione was now poring over.

"How are you getting through all this stuff?" Harry asked her as she glanced up at him.

"Oh, well… you know… working hard, staying out of trouble, not doing drugs; all that jazz." Hermione said as Harry gave Harry a more critical look. Close-up, Harry could see that she looked almost as tired as Lupin. Even Byakuya looked worried she'd drop at any moment.

"Why don't you just drop a couple of subjects?" Harry asked, watching her lift books as she searched for her rune dictionary.

"I couldn't do that!" Hermione said, looking scandalized as she clutched a rather large text to her chest.

"Arithmancy looks terribly complex." Harry said, picking up a very complicated-looking number chart which he recognized as matrices thanks to Mayuri's computerized works that Harry watched from time to time when his scientific friend didn't have time to converse.

"Oh no, it's rather wonderful!" Hermione said earnestly as she hugged the text even tighter to her frame, "It's my favorite subject! It's-"

But whatever was so exactly wonderful about Arithmancy, Harry and Byakuya never found out as at that precise moment, a strangled yell echoed down from the boys' staircase. The whole common room fell silent, staring and petrified, at the entrance.

"What the hell?" Byakuya said as Soi Fon came from the shadows, a throwing knife in one hand while the other hand rested on her sword.

"That sounded like Ron!" Harry said as he and Hermione stood from their seats. Then in hurried footsteps with the yell growing louder and louder, Ron came leaping into view from the bottom of the stairway, dragging his bed sheet with him.

"LOOK!" Ron bellowed, striding over to Hermione's table as everyone quickly made way and got the hell out of dodge, "LOOK!" he yelled again, shaking the sheets in Hermione's thoroughly confused face.

"Ron, what-"

"SCABBERS! LOOK! SCABBERS!"

Hermione was leaning away from Ron, looking utterly bewildered as Harry exchanged a look with Byakuya before he looked down at the sheet Ron was holding. There was something red on it. Something that looked horribly like-

"BLOOD!" Ron yelled into the stunned silence, "HE'S GONE! SCABBERS IS _GONE_! AND YOU KNOW WHAT WAS ON THE FLOOR?"

"N-No…" Hermione said in a trembling voice, looking completely horrified at what Ron's anger might do to her as Harry looked away, unable to bare the memory of what he had done to his friend.

"_That does it, I've got to ask for their help. I can't go on knowing something bad might happen to them if I keep this up. If I keep feeling, and hurting them with my feelings_." Harry thought as he clenched his fists.

Harry turned back as Ron threw something down onto Hermione's rune translations. Hermione and Harry leaned forward, but soon leaned back with gasps as they stared down at it. Lying on top of the translation sheet were several long, ginger cat hairs.

* * *

><p>Harry sighed as it looked like the end of Ron and Hermione's friendship.<p>

Each was so angry with the other that Harry couldn't see how they'd ever make up. Ron was enraged that Hermione had never taken Crookshanks' attempts to eat Scabbers seriously, how she hadn't bothered to keep a close enough watch on the cat, and how she was still trying to pretend that Crookshanks was innocent by suggesting that Ron should look for Scabbers under all the boys' beds.

Hermione, meanwhile, maintained fiercely that Ron had no proof that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, that the ginger hairs might have been there since Christmas, and that Ron had been prejudiced against her cat ever since Crookshanks had landed on Ron's head in the Magical Menagerie.

Personally, Harry wasn't sure that Crookshanks had eaten Scabbers, though he wouldn't put it passed the feline to do so. Even though Crookshanks could talk and was intelligent, he was still just a cat; an intelligent talking-cat, but a cat none the less. And whenever he tried to point this out to Hermione (leaving out the part about her cat being able to talk) , she lost her temper with him too.

"Okay, go ahead and side with Ron! I knew you would, Harry!" Hermione told him shrilly as he stood there with wide eyes, having (not two seconds ago) a completely calm and rational discussion over her cat's intellect and feline ways, "First the Firebolt and now Scabbers. Everything's my fault, isn't it!"

"I never said-" Harry tried calmly as Hermione pushed him roughly away from her.

"Just…! Just leave me alone, Harry Potter! I've got a lot of work to do!" Hermione said as she pushed him again and again until he finally left.

"So… how'd it go?" Byakuya asked with a grin as Harry shot him a look while straightening his clothes.

"How do you think?" Harry said shortly as Byakuya laughed at him.

Ron had, apparently, taken the loss of his rat very hard indeed. So hard, in fact, that even Fred and George were trying to cheer him up.

"Come on, Ron, you were always saying how boring Scabbers was." Fred said bracingly, "And he's been off-color for ages, he was wasting away. It was probably better for him to snuff it quickly, one swallow, he probably didn't feel a thing."

"What a lovely image." Byakuya muttered darkly as Harry raised a horrified brow at Fred's tact.

"All he did was eat and sleep, Ron, you said it yourself." George said as Ron looked defiant.

"He bit Goyle for us that once!" Ron said miserably, "Remember, Harry?"

"Yeah, that is true…" Harry said, chuckling at the memory. Oh, he'd tease Goyle for days about that if the larger boy gave Ron any grief over Scabbers.

"His finest hour." Fred said, unable to keep a straight face as he laughed, "Let the scar on Goyle's finger stand as a lasting tribute to his memory. Oh, come on, Ron, get yourself down to Hogsmeade and buy a new rat, what's the point of moaning?"

"You should try something to cheer him up too." Byakuya said as Harry nodded, surprising Byakuya.

"I'll think of something…" Harry muttered.

And indeed, in a last-ditch attempt to cheer Ron up, Harry persuaded him to come along to the Gryffindor team's final practice before the Ravenclaw match, so that he could have a ride on the Firebolt after they'd finished. This did seem to take Ron's mind off Scabbers for a moment ("Great! Can I try and shoot a few goals on it?") so they set off for the Quidditch field together.

Madam Hooch, who was still overseeing Gryffindor practices to keep an eye on Harry, was just as impressed with the Firebolt as everyone else had been. She took it in her hands before take-off and gave them the benefit of her professional opinion.

"Look at the balance on it! If the Nimbus series has a fault, it's a slight list to the tail end. You often find they develop a drag after a few years. They've updated the handle too, a bit slimmer than the Cleansweeps, reminds me of the old Silver Arrows; a pity they've stopped making them. I learned to fly on one, and a very fine old broom it was too…"

She continued in this vein for some time, until Wood said, "Er… Madam Hooch? Is it okay if Harry has the Firebolt back? We need to practice…"

"Huh? Oh, right! Here you are then, Potter." Madam Hooch said as she handed Harry back his broom, "I'll sit over here with Weasley."

She, Ron, and Byakuya (who couldn't do that standing on air trick that Jushiro had done) left the field to sit in the stadium, and the Gryffindor team gathered around Wood for his final instructions for tomorrow's match.

"Harry, I've just found out who Ravenclaw is playing as Seeker. It's Cho Chang. She's a fourth year, and she's pretty good… I really hoped she wouldn't be fit, she's had some problems with injuries, you see…" Wood said, scowling in his displeasure that Cho Chang had made a full recovery, "On the other hand, she rides a Comet Two Sixty, which is going to look like a joke next to the Firebolt." Wood said as he gave Harry's broom a look of fervent admiration, as though it were the newest and best team member, "Okay, everyone, let's go!"

And at long last, Harry mounted his Firebolt, and kicked off from the ground.

It was better than he'd ever dreamed. The Firebolt turned with the lightest touch; it seemed to obey his thoughts rather than his grip; it sped across the field at such speed that the stadium turned into a green-and-gray blur. Harry turned it so sharply that Alicia Spinnet screamed, then he went into a perfectly controlled dive, brushing the grassy field with his toes before rising thirty… forty… fifty feet into the air again.

"Harry, I'm letting the Snitch out!" Wood called from the ground as Harry turned and raced a Bludger toward the goal posts; he outstripped it easily.

When Harry saw the Snitch dart out from behind Wood, he had, within ten seconds (as Byakuya had told him later) caught it tightly in his hand.

The team cheered madly. Harry let the Snitch go again, gave it a minute's head start, then tore after it, weaving in and out of his teammates as he spotted it lurking near Katie Bell's knee, looped her easily, and caught it again.

It was the best practice _ever_! The team, inspired by the presence of the Firebolt in their midst, performed their best moves faultlessly, and by the time they hit the ground again, Wood didn't have a single criticism to make, which (as George Weasley pointed out later when Oliver wasn't around) was a first.

"I can't see what's going to stop us tomorrow!" Wood said before he turned his gaze quickly, almost madly, toward Harry, "Not unless… Harry, you've sorted out your Dementor problem, haven't you?"

"Umm… Yeah." Harry said, thinking of his feeble Patronus and wishing it were stronger.

"The Dementors won't turn up again, Oliver. Dumbledore'd go ballistic." Fred said confidently with his chest out as though he were now Dumbledore.

"Well… let's hope not." Wood said, "Anyway, good work, everyone! Let's get back to the tower… turn in early…"

"I'm staying out for a bit; Ron wants a go on the Firebolt." Harry told Wood, and while the rest of the team headed off to the locker rooms, Harry strode over to Ron, who vaulted the barrier to the stands and came to meet him. Harry raised a brow, looking back to see Madam Hooch had fallen asleep in her seat and Byakuya was looking a bit bored.

"Here you go." Harry said, handing Ron the Firebolt.

Ron, an expression of ecstasy (a word Draco whispered hotly in his ear once) on his face, mounted the broom and zoomed off into the gathering darkness while Harry walked around the edge of the field, watching him. He wasn't alone for long as Byakuya soon flashed to his side. He was rather thankful he was now able to see Byakuya's movements, because he would have had a heart attack while his attention had been on Ron.

Night had fallen before Madam Hooch awoke with a start, and told Harry and Ron off for not waking her, insisting that they go back to the castle.

Harry shouldered the Firebolt as he, Ron, Byakuya walked out of the shadowy stadium, discussing the Firebolt's superbly smooth action, its phenomenal acceleration, and its pinpoint turning all the while Byakuya was rolling his eyes and whispering snide comments in Harry's ear. They were halfway toward the castle when Harry suddenly glanced pass Byakuya, and saw something that made his heart turn over; a pair of beastly eyes, gleaming out of the darkness.

Harry stopped dead, his heart banging against his ribs as he shakily reached for his wand.

"Harry…? What's the matter, mate?" Ron asked as Harry pointed while Ron pulled out his wand.

"_**Lumos**_!" Ron said, as a beam of light fell across the grass, hitting the bottom of a tree, and illuminating its branches; there, crouching among the budding leaves, was Crookshanks, swishing his long tail back and forth while watching them with an almost bored expression.

"Get out of here!" Ron roared as he stooped down, seizing a small stone lying on the grass, but before he could do anything else, Crookshanks rolled it's feline eyes and had vanished with one swish of his long ginger tail.

"That's one weird cat, Harry." Byakuya said as Harry was still staring at where Crookshanks was.

"See, Harry?" Ron said furiously, chucking the stone down, "She's still letting that beast wander about wherever he wants! Probably washing down poor Scabbers with a couple of birds now…"

And while Ron was ranting, Harry didn't say anything. He took a deep breath as relief seeped through him; he had been sure for a moment that those eyes had belonged to the Grim.

"Harry…?"

"I'm fine, Byakuya." Harry said nearly inaudibly as he walked off ahead at a brisk pace in the middle of Ron's raging. They set off for the castle once more, and Harry, still slightly ashamed of his momentary panic, didn't say anything to Ron, nor did he look left or right until they had reached the well lit entrance hall.

He would not let some fear of a beast rule his life. Now he wanted more than ever to be able to do more than simply shield himself away from a threat. He wanted to be able to take them head on.

"You shouldn't bottle every thing up. Grandfather says it's not healthy." Byakuya said in concern as Harry sighed with a shrug.

"Sorry, but after living with my relatives, I'm sort of programmed that way." Harry replied.

"Who are you talking to?" Ron asked as Harry's eyes went wide. He had forgotten about his best friend standing there next to him.

"Myself. People tell me I have a knack for it." Harry said with a wide grin and closed eyes.

"Sounds to me like ya do." Ron said, grinning as well.

"I'll say…" Byakuya muttered as he crossed his arms, "Hey, Harry, I'm going back up to the Mission Room. You coming?"

Harry only shook his head while Byakuya gave him a scowl. Ever since Jushiro had gotten up, Harry had been spending less time up at the Seventh Floor in the hopes that he wouldn't have to talk to the white-haired man. While he may now be determined to help the Soul Reapers and himself, he also didn't want his presence to hurt Jushiro anymore than it already had.

"Fine, have it your way, but do realize that he's a Captain; he's been worst off, so don't beat yourself up about it." Byakuya said before he Flash-stepped away. Harry realized that if he wanted to, he could see Byakuya running past all the slow burning torches, and out f sight. But, as soon as Byakuya's words got to him, he sighed and ran a hand through his jet-black hair.

He wasn't beating himself up about Jushiro… right?

* * *

><p>"Report, Soi Fon." Jushiro said as Soi Fon appeared in a kneeling bow.<p>

"Sir, Harry's spiritual powers and his control over them are growing, and having been growing more rapidly since your bout of illness. He has been taken lessons from one of the school teachers, and is now capable of generating is energy in not just a physical state, but also in a specific emotional spectrum. This sort of training is far past that which they teach at the Soul Reaper Academy level, and is something we've never even delved into. He's able to use this power to ward off the Dementors." Soi Fon reported as Jushiro, Mayuri, and Ginrei all looked a bit shocked.

"To think up such a technique… And then the application of it… It's at the level of Captain." Jushiro surmised as Ginrei nodded.

"The ability to close off one's heart is just about in the same league, but I must admit that using one's spirit energy as a positive emotional barrier against a Hollow; it's ingenious." Ginrei said gruffly with his eyes closed.

"Hmm… Yes, yes, know I remember. This ability is one of those Kido they use classified as a "Charm". It's the Patronus Charm and is exceedingly difficult for even fully-trained wizards. It's most basic form, the shield; which appears more like a fog, would require the control and power of a Kido Corps member like Hachigen, or a Captain of the 13 Court Guard Squads. Not many wizards are able to do this charm effectively." Mayuri explained as he rubbed at his chin.

"Captain Ukitake, Captain Kuchiki. The difficulty of this technique and the amount of energy it takes. Because Harry had so little control over it, it drained him of nearly everything he had. Now, after so long of practicing, it's helping him learn control and focus over his power. Whether he knows this or not, his Spiritual Pressure… it's at the level of a Seated Officer, so that means…" Soi Fon said, trailing off as Jushiro nodded.

"His spiritual energy is at the level of that as well. If the incident you told me about earlier is true, then he's already having problems with containing that much power. Remember, just earlier young Byakuya reported that people who normally interact with Harry are started to be able to hear him. That means-"

"That young Harry's powers still lack the amount of control that they need. In fact, he may _never_ have the amount of control he needs. His energy is leaking out just like ours was before Mr. Kurotsuchi here gave us these suppressers. Hmm… If this persists, then Harry's friends, teachers, and even dormmates will acquire enough Spiritual Energy to see and interact with us. And that-"

"Would be _very_ bad." Mayuri finished with a scowl as Ginrei and Jushiro nodded.

"Then I believe we'll start tomorrow. Is that alright with everyone?" Jushiro said as he stood from his cushion while the others nodded.

"I shall now return to my post, sirs." Soi Fon said, and without waiting for a reply, she vanished.

"I'll get the area ready, and my documenting equipment setup. This could be the discovery of the century! A person with spiritual power acquiring Soul Reaper powers, without Soul Reapers _giving_ them to him! Amazing!" Mayuri said as he rushed from the room.

Jushiro and Ginrei exchanged looks. It was going to be a long day tomorrow, and the day after…

* * *

><p>Harry went down to breakfast the next morning with the rest of the boys in his dormitory, all of whom seemed to think the Firebolt deserved a sort of guard of honor. Byakuya hadn't return to his side, and Harry couldn't feel Soi Fon's presence anywhere as he entered the Great Hall. Heads turned in the direction of the Firebolt, and there was a good deal of excited muttering. Harry saw, with enormous satisfaction, that the Slytherin team were all looking thunderstruck, especially Draco, whose jaw was practially on the floor as Harry grinned.<p>

"Did you see his face?" Ron said gleefully, looking back at Draco, "He can't believe it! This is brilliant!"

Oliver Wood, too, was basking in the reflected glory of the Firebolt.

"Put it here, Harry." Oliver said, laying the broom in the middle of the table and carefully turning it so that its name faced upward. People from the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were soon coming over to look. Cedric Diggory, a nice enough person Harry had a talk or two with, came over to congratulate Harry on having acquired such a superb replacement for his Nimbus, and Percy's Ravenclaw girlfriend, Penelope Clearwater, asked if she could actually hold the Firebolt.

"Now, now, Penny, no sabotage!" Percy said heartily as she examined the Firebolt closely. "Penelope and I have got a bet on." Percy told the team with an actual grin, "Ten Galleons on the outcome of the match!"

Penelope put the Firebolt down again, thanked Harry, and went back to her table.

"Harry, make _sure_ you win." Percy said in an urgent whisper, "I haven't _got_ ten Galleons. Yes, I'm coming, Penny!" And with that Percy bustled off to join his girlfriend in a piece of toast.

"Sure you can manage that broom, Potter?" said an amused, yet still somewhat cold, drawling voice. Draco Malfoy had arrived for a closer look, Crabbe and Goyle right behind him while the rest of his gang raised their cups to Harry in a subtle congrats.

"Yeah, I reckon so, Draco. Hey that rhymed." Harry said casually with a grin as Draco rolled his eyes, ignoring his boyfriend's silly behavior.

"Got plenty of special features, hasn't it?" Draco asked as Harry knew that the blond had wanted a Firebolt ever since the game against Ravenclaw. Then Draco smirked down at him and leaned in to whisper, "It's such a shame it doesn't come with a parachute. You know, in case you get too near a Dementor."

Crabbe and Goyle sniggered as Harry rolled his eyes.

"Pity you can't attach an extra arm to your broom, Draco love." Harry teased as Draco's cheeks went pink, "Then it could catch the Snitch for you."

The Gryffindor team laughed loudly while Malfoy's pale eyes narrowed, and a pout played on his lips before he leaned back in to whisper in Harry's ear.

"Got you charm bracelet?" Draco asked as Harry nodded, barely showing the thing from inside his robes, "Good. Put it on."

"Does it still work? I mean, the Dementors shattered the shield thing." Harry whispered back glancing at his friends who were all enwrapped with the Firebolt.

"Yeah, because one of the runes on it makes the shield generate from your magical core. Don't worry, it'll have plenty of power." Draco said, kissing Harry's cheek before stalking away, leaving a red-faced Harry to be questioned by his friends until he drew their attention back to the Firebolt. Harry watched as Draco rejoined the rest of the Slytherin team, who put their heads together, no doubt asking Draco whether Harry's broom really was a Firebolt while Theo, Blaise, and Pansy were sending Harry teasing looks and acts as they pretended to be him and Draco flying until they crashed into one another, lip-locked.

* * *

><p>At a quarter to eleven, the Gryffindor team set off for the locker rooms, and Harry had still yet to see hide nor hair of Byakuya or Soi Fon.<p>

The weather couldn't have been more different from their match against Hufflepuff. It was a clear, cool day with a very light breeze; there would be no visibility problems this time, and Harry, though nervous, was starting to feel the excitement only a Quidditch match could bring. He and the team could hear the rest of the school moving into the stadium beyond, chatting and cheering loudly for the teams they wanted to win. Harry took off his black school robes, the charm bracelet falling out as he removed his wand from the robe pocket. He smiled down at the bracelet as he picked it up and placed it on his wrist where it glowed lightly for a moment. He stuck his wand inside the T-shirt he was to wear under his Quidditch robes as he only hoped he wouldn't need to use it. He wondered suddenly whether Professor Lupin was in the crowd, watching.

"You know what we've got to do." Wood said as they prepared to leave the locker rooms, forming their line-up, "If we lose this match, we're out of the running, so just… Just fly like you did in practice yesterday, and we'll be okay!"

They walked out onto the field to tumultuous applause. The Ravenclaw team, dressed in blue, were already standing in the middle of the field. Their Seeker, Cho Chang, was the only girl on their team. She was shorter than Harry by about more than a few inches, and Harry couldn't help noticing, nervous as he was, that she was extremely pretty; an Asain beauty like that of Soi Fon. He blushed lightly as he thought of his stern friend as beautiful, but couldn't find it in him to deny the fact. Cho Chang smiled at him as the teams faced each other behind their captains, and he felt his cheeks heat up as he was thinking of Soi Fon, playing Quidditch and being a normal shy girl.

Where were Soi Fon and Byakuya anyway?

* * *

><p>"Why are we in here, anyway?" Byakuya asked, his arms crossed as he sat with his legs folded while giving Soi Fon and the cat next to her an annoyed look.<p>

"Because this will allow us to better view the match and keep watch over Harry." Crookshanks said sternly as Byakuya scoffed.

"You're that cat that ate Harry's friend Ron's pet rat Scabbers." Byakuya pointed out as Crookshanks looked back at him.

"And if I did?" Crookshanks asked as Byakuya rolled his eyes.

"You didn't, did you?" Byakuya asked as Crookshanks didn't respond.

"The game's about to begin." Soi Fon said, more to herself than the others.

* * *

><p>"Hmm…" Ginrei hummed from his spot atop one of the stadium flags. They couldn't take the chance of Jushiro getting hurt again, and he wanted to see what the others saw.<p>

He wanted to see Harry, carefree and uninhibited…

* * *

><p>"Wood, Davies, shake hands." Madam Hooch said briskly as Wood shook hands with the Ravenclaw Captain.<p>

"Mount your brooms… on my whistle… three… two… one!"

Harry kicked off into the air and the Firebolt zoomed higher and faster than any other broom; he soared around the stadium and began squinting around for the Snitch, listening all the while to the commentary, which was being provided by the Weasley twins' friend, Lee Jordan.

"They're off, and the big excitement this match is the Firebolt that Harry Potter is flying for Gryffindor. According to Which Broomstick, the Firebolt's going to be the broom of choice for the national teams at this year's World Championship-"

"Jordan, would you mind telling us what's going on in the match?" Professor McGonagall's voice interrupted.

"Right you are, Professor. I was just giving a bit of background information. Like how the Firebolt, incidentally, has a built-in auto-brake and —"

"Jordan!"

"Okay, okay, Gryffindor in possession, Katie Bell of Gryffindor, heading for goal…"

Harry streaked past Katie in the opposite direction, gazing around for a glint of gold and noticing that Cho Chang was tailing him closely. She was undoubtedly a very good flier, she kept cutting across him, forcing him to change direction.

"_She's trying to mark me_." Harry thought with a mental scoff, "_Not a bad strategy, but it not like she'll out fly me if it comes down to a race_."

"Show her your acceleration, Harry!" Fred yelled as he whooshed past in pursuit of a Bludger that was aiming for Alicia.

Harry urged the Firebolt forward as they rounded the Ravenclaw goal posts and Cho fell behind. Just as Katie succeeded in scoring the first goal of the match, and the Gryffindor end of the field went wild, he saw it; the Snitch was close to the ground, flitting near one of the barriers.

Harry dived; Cho saw what he was doing and tore after him. Harry was speeding up, excitement flooding him; dives were his specialty, he was ten feet away-

Then a Bludger, hit by one of the Ravenclaw Beaters, came pelting out of nowhere; Harry veered off course, avoiding it by an inch, and in those few, _crucial_ seconds, the Snitch had vanished.

There was a great "Ooooooh" of disappointment from the Gryffindor supporters, but much applause for their Beater from the Ravenclaw end. George Weasley vented his feelings by hitting the second Bludger directly at the offending Beater, who was forced to roll right over in midair to avoid it.

"Gryffindor leads by eighty points to zero, and look at that Firebolt go! Potter's really putting it through its paces now, see it turn; Chang's Comet is just no match for it, the Firebolt's precision. The balance is really noticeable in these long-"

"JORDAN! ARE YOU BEING PAID TO ADVERTISE FIREBOLTS? GET ON WITH THE COMMENTARY!"

Ravenclaw was pulling back; they had now scored three goals, which put Gryffindor only fifty points ahead. That meant, if Cho got the Snitch before him, Ravenclaw would win. Harry dropped lower, narrowly avoiding a Ravenclaw Chaser, scanning the field frantically- then a glint of gold, a flutter of tiny wings; the Snitch was circling the Gryffindor goal post…

Harry accelerated, eyes fixed on the speck of gold ahead, but just then; Cho appeared out of thin air, blocking him-

"HARRY, THIS IS NO TIME TO BE A GENTLEMAN!" Wood roared as Harry swerved to avoid a collision, "KNOCK HER OFF HER BROOM IF YOU HAVE TO!"

Harry turned and caught sight of Cho; she was grinning and he was now fuming. The Snitch had vanished again. Harry turned his Firebolt upward and was soon twenty feet above the game. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cho following him… She really did decided to mark him rather than search for the Snitch herself…

"_Alright, then… if she really wants to tail me, she'd have to take the consequences…_" Harry thought with a mental Cheshir cat grin.

Harry dived again, and Cho, thinking he'd seen the Snitch, tried to follow; Harry pulled out of the dive very sharply; she hurtled downward; he rose fast as a bullet once more, and then saw it, for the third time; the Snitch was glittering way above the field at the Ravenclaw end.

He accelerated; so, many feet below, did Cho. He was winning, gaining on the Snitch with every second. Then-

"Merlin, help us!" Cho screamed, pointing as Harry, distracted, looked down.

Three Dementors, three tall, black, hooded Dementors, were looking up at him.

* * *

><p>"No way, not again…" Byakuya huffed looking through the Kido at the match.<p>

"Something isn't right here… I don't sense their dark, cold aura like last time." Crookshanks said with a swish of his tail.

"Harry's not being affected at all, though. I don't think they're real Dementors." Soi Fon said, concentrating on the Kido more for a better picture.

* * *

><p>"Hmm… I heard the Slytherin students played tricks, but one such as these? Hmm…" Ginrei said with his hands in his sleeves as he didn't mover an inch from his spot atop the Ravenclaw stadium flag post.<p>

* * *

><p>Harry didn't stop to think. Plunging a hand down the neck of his robes, he whipped out his wand and roared, "<em><strong>Expecto Patronum<strong>_!"

Something silver-white, something enormous, erupted from the end of his wand. He knew it had shot directly at the Dementors but didn't pause to watch; his mind still miraculously clear as he looked ahead. He was nearly there! He stretched out the hand still grasping his wand and just managed to close his fingers over the small, struggling Snitch.

Madam Hooch's whistle sounded as soon as he had done the deed. Harry turned around in midair and saw six scarlet blurs bearing down on him; next moment, the whole team was hugging him so hard he was nearly pulled off his broom. Down below he could hear the roars of the Gryffindors in the crowd.

"That's my boy! My boy!" Wood kept yelling around Harry, as Alicia, Angelina, and Katie had all kissed him; Fred and George had even given him a kiss as they had him in a grip so tight Harry felt as though his head would come off while they were ruffling his hair roughly. In complete disarray, the team managed to make its way back to the ground as Harry got off his broom, only to look up and see a gaggle of Gryffindor supporters sprinting onto the field, Ron definitely in the lead. Before he knew it, he had been engulfed by the cheering crowd.

"Yes!" Ron yelled, yanking Harry's arm into the air as though he were some kind of champion, "Yes! Yes! Harry's the man!"

"Well done, Harry! Well done!" Percy said, looking positively delighted, "Ten Galleons to me! Must find Penelope now then, if you'll excuse me."

"Good for you, Harry!" Seamus roared.

"Ruddy brilliant!" Hagrid boomed cheerfully over the heads of the milling Gryffindors.

"That was quite some Patronus, Harry." a voice said above Harry's ear.

Harry turned around to see Professor Lupin, who looked both shaken and pleased.

"The Dementors didn't affect me at all!" Harry said excitedly, "I didn't feel a thing!"

Maybe he wouldn't need that Soul Reaper training for Dementors after all, but against Voldemort…

Yeah, he'd need every advantage he could get…

"That would be because they… err… weren't actually Dementors." Professor Lupin said with a strange smile, "Come and see."

Lupin led Harry out of the crowd until they were able to see the edge of the field.

"You gave Mr. Flint quite a fright… and Mr. Malfoy quite a laugh after he got over his own fear." Lupin said as he gestured to the grounds.

"That's perfect, it only makes the victory sweeter." Harry said as he stared.

Lying in a crumpled heap on the ground were Crabbe, Goyle, and Marcus Flint, the Slytherin team Captain, all struggling to remove themselves from long, black, hooded robes. It looked as though Draco had been rolling on the ground in laughter after standing on Goyle's shoulders. Standing over them, with an expression of the utmost fury on her face, was Professor McGonagall. Even so, Draco was still laughing.

"An unworthy trick!" McGonagall was shouting, "A low and cowardly attempt to sabotage the Gryffindor Seeker! Detention for all of you, and fifty points from Slytherin! I shall be speaking to Professor Dumbledore about this, make no mistake! Ah, here he comes now!"

If anything could have set the seal on Gryffindor's victory, it was this. Ron, who had fought his way through to Harry's side, doubled up with laughter as they watched the Slytherins fight to extricate themselves from the robes… and Goyle's head still stuck inside of one.

"Come on, Harry!" George said, fighting his way over, "Party! Gryffindor common room, now!"

"Right. See you after detention, Draco." Harry said as he walked away with a teasing wave while Draco stopped laughing. Harry was feeling happier than he had in ages, he and the rest of the team led the way, still in their scarlet robes, out of the stadium and back up to the castle.

It felt as though they had already won the Quidditch Cup; the party went on all day and well into the night. Fred and George Weasley disappeared for a couple of hours and returned with armfuls of bottles of butterbeer, pumpkin fizz, and several bags full of Honeydukes sweets.

"How did you do that?" Angelina Johnson squealed as George started throwing Peppermint Toads into the crowd.

"With a little help from Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs." Fred muttered in Harry's ear as Harry grinned.

Only one person wasn't joining in the festivities. Hermione, incredibly, was sitting in a corner, attempting to read an enormous book entitled _Home Life and Social Habits of British Muggles_. Harry broke away from the table where Fred and George had started juggling butterbeer bottles and went over to her.

"Oh come Hermione, have a little fun. It's a party." Harry said as Hermione seemed not to hear him, "Did you even come to the match?" he asked her as she looked up quickly.

"Of course I did." Hermione said in a strangely high-pitched voice, her face buried once again in her book, "Listen, I'm very glad we won, and I think you did really well, but I need to read this by Monday."

"Come on, Hermione, come and have some food. I don't think you've eaten in days." Harry said, looking over at Ron and wondering whether he was in a good enough mood to bury the hatchet.

"I can't, Harry. I've still got four hundred and twenty-two pages to read!" Hermione said, sounding slightly hysterical, "Anyway…" Hermione said lowly, glancing over at Ron too, "He doesn't want me to join in."

There was no arguing with this, as Ron chose that moment to say loudly, "If Scabbers hadn't just been eaten, he could have had some of those Fudge Flies. He used to really like them…"

Hermione burst into tears, and before Harry could say or do anything, she tucked the enormous book under her arm, and still sobbing, ran toward the staircase to the girls' dormitories and out of sight.

"Can't you give her a break?" Harry asked Ron quietly in a harsh whisper.

"No, I can't." Ron said flatly, "If she just _acted_ like she was sorry… But no, she'll never admit she's wrong, that Hermione Granger. She's still acting like Scabbers has gone on vacation or something."

The Gryffindor party ended only when Professor McGonagall turned up in her tartan dressing gown and hair net at one in the morning, to insist that they all go to bed. Harry and Ron climbed the stairs to their dormitory, still discussing the match. At last, exhausted, Harry climbed into bed, twitched the hangings of his four-poster shut to block out a ray of moonlight, lay back, and felt himself almost instantly drifting off to sleep…

* * *

><p><em>He watched as the Hollow before him disintegrated into thin air while he sheathed his sword back at his right side. He turned his gaze toward the white-haired prodigy as the boy battled. He had to admit, the boy was only a few years younger than him and Byakuya, but the boy's power was nearly as great as their own.<em>

"_Young Toshiro Hitsugaya… a prodigy said to be almost be in my own league." Harry muttered to himself with an amused shake of his head, "I've watched him grown up, and I must admit that he's better than me. I had many people helping me, and he only ever had me."_

_Then, before Harry could continue to watch the young genius's battle unfold, the weight of large spiritual pressure slammed down on to Harry's shoulders and caused young Toshiro to stumble in his attack. Harry turned calmly toward the Hollow the which was producing the energy, which was charging at him._

"_**Stupefy**__." Harry said pointing his index finger at the approaching Hollow. A red beam of light shot from Harry's finger and stunned the Hollow. Then, before it could regain itself, Harry had already been behind it sheathing his sword._

"_My apologizes. Please find peace in the next life." Harry said quietly with his eyes down to the forest they were above, and with the click of his Zanpakuto being full sheathed, the Hollow was seen to be bisected directly down the middle as it disappeared into nothingness while Harry sighed._

"_You ended that quicker than normal." a voice said as Harry looked over his shoulder to see Toshiro breathing heavily behind him, "You finished them all off with that one Flash-step. You're… amazing…"_

"_Hmm? I used three steps to kill them all." Harry said quietly as Toshiro's eyes widened._

"_They blended together so seamlessly that I thought you used one… They were right about how much you had grown since the summer… You really are in a league all your own…" Toshiro said in awe as he and Harry moved to the ground. Harry said nothing as he and Toshiro landed inside the forest._

"_You know…" Toshiro began, "They say you'd become the next Head-Captain if you'd stay with us."_

"_I can't, Toshiro. I have a duty to my home. You know what my plans are." Harry said quietly, having dreaded the conversation just like he had with Byakuya mere days ago._

"_I know…" Toshiro said, biting his lower lip, "But if you really do go… Can I… Can I come with you?"_

"_Toshiro-"_

"_I promise to train hard, and not to be a bother! I'll gain my Shikai soon! And then… and then Bankai! I promise! Please, just give me-"_

"_Toshiro Hitsugaya! Stop this at once!" Harry shouted, breaking Toshiro's frantic bargaining, "Toshiro… You can't come with me. You have a duty to your own home. You have a duty to your friends. To Momo and Shuhei. To Byakuya and Soi Fon. To me, from there." Harry said, his voice less harsh._

"_But-"_

"_No buts, Toshiro! You have to be there for them! To protect them! To keep them grounded! To be the person, the hope I know you are. They need you Toshiro, and my taking away what they need isn't right… no matter how much I want to…" Harry said as he could feel the tears trying to give way. He wouldn't let them. He wouldn't let Toshiro see him in such a state._

"_I… I understand." Toshiro said quietly, a small yet sad smile playing on his youthful face, "Those there need you as much those here need me…"_

"_Yes, and someday, you'll look back on this day and know I'm right. Even though you hate me for it now." Harry said as Toshiro looked up at him in surprise._

"_I couldn't hate you! Never!" Toshiro yelled as Harry chuckled, ruffling the younger boy's snow whit hair._

"_You do. Remember Toshiro, I know you. Later today you'll be in bed crying into your pillow about how much you hate me for not taking you with me. You kick, and scream, and cry about how much you hate me until you cry yourself to sleep."_

"_I won't-"_

"_You will, and I'm okay with it." Harry said with a smile, "Now get going. Byakuya and the others are waiting for you."_

"_I… I'll never forget you, Potter-sensei." Toshiro said with tears running down his cheeks as he hugged the taller male around the middle like a child. And who was he kidding, Harry was like a big brother to him, if not a father, "Never so long as I live."_

"_I keep telling you to call me Harry." Harry said softly as he patted Toshiro's head._

"_Alright then… Harry Potter." Toshiro said before he turned and walked away. Harry could only give a sigh as he saw the Senkaimon open and Byakuya looking at him with a small smile. He waved to his friend, who waved back. Soon enough, Harry saw Soi Fon, Mayuri, and even Shuhei in the Senkaimon as Toshiro joined them and turned around. He wiped his tears away and as the gate was closing, they all waved their finally good-byes to him._

_Harry watched the Senkaimon disappear with a sigh. He'd rarely ever get to see them again after today._

"_Are you ready to get started, young Harry?" an aged voice Harry knew well asked as Harry gave a small smile._

"_Yes, I am. Have they finished the construction?" Harry asked as he joined the old man who was sitting on a tree stump. The old man got up, his eyes twinkling as Harry always knew them to._

"_Yes, and most of the lower ranks have been filled. We'll have to live double-lives for a while, but it'll prove useful as we gather more agents to our cause." the old man said as he walked beside Harry, deeper into the forest, "It was nice of you to spend a day with each of them and that time over the summer. I'm sure they appreciated it."_

"_I'm glad I did, too. Now then, all that's let are to fill the higher ranks. But that's no matter. We have time, and if there's one think we've got plenty of… it's time." Harry said as the old man chuckled._

"_Yes, indeed that is one aspect we are now without end of."_

"_Then let's get to work. For time is on our side."_

"_Yes, young Harry. No matter the tomorrow, we'll always have time."_

* * *

><p>"AAARRGGHH! NOOO!"<p>

Harry awoke suddenly, his emerald eyes wide as he bolted up in bed. He was disoriented in the total darkness as he fumbled with his hangings. He could hear movements around him, and Seamus' voice from the other side of the room.

"What's going on?"

Harry thought he heard the dormitory door slam. At last finding the divide in his curtains, he ripped them back, and at the same moment, Dean Thomas lit his lamp.

Ron was sitting up in bed, the hangings torn from one side, a look of utmost terror on his face.

"Black! Sirius Black! With a knife!"

"What?"

"Here! Just now! Slashed the curtains! Woke me up!"

"You sure you weren't dreaming, Ron?" said Dean.

"Look at the curtains! I tell you, he was here!"

They all scrambled out of bed; Harry, unconscious of having even moved from his bed, had reached the dormitory door first as they all sprinted back down the staircase. Doors opened behind them, and sleepy voices called after them.

"Who shouted?"

"What're you doing?"

The common room was lit with the glow of the dying fire, still littered with the debris from the party. It was deserted.

"Are you sure you weren't dreaming, Ron?" Seamus asked sleepily as Ron glared at the Irish boy.

"I'm telling you, I saw him!"

"What's all the noise?"

"Professor McGonagall told us to go to bed!"

A few of the girls had come down their staircase, pulling on dressing gowns and yawning. Boys, too, were reappearing.

"Excellent, are we carrying on?" Fred asked brightly.

"Everyone back upstairs!" Percy said, hurrying into the common room and pinning his Head Boy badge to his pajamas as he spoke.

"Percy, Sirius Black!" Ron said faintly, "In our dormitory! With a knife! Woke me up!"

The common room went very still.

"Nonsense!" Percy said, looking startled, "You had too much to eat, Ron. Y-You had a nightmare, and-"

"I'm telling you-"

"Now, really, enough _is_ enough!"

Professor McGonagall was back as she slammed the portrait behind her, entering the common room and staring around furiously.

"I am delighted that Gryffindor won the match, but this is getting ridiculous! Percy, I expected better of you!"

"I certainly didn't authorize this, Professor!" Percy said, puffing himself up indignantly, "I was just telling them all to get back to bed! My brother Ron here had a nightmare-"

"IT WASN'T A NIGHTMARE!" Ron yelled, "PROFESSOR, I WOKE UP, AND SIRIUS BLACK WAS STANDING OVER ME, HOLDING A KNIFE!"

Professor McGonagall stared at him.

"Don't be ridiculous, Mr. Weasley, how could he possibly have gotten through the portrait hole?"

"Ask him!" Ron said, pointing a shaking finger at the back of Sir Cadogan's picture, "Ask him if he saw!"

Glaring suspiciously at Ron, Professor McGonagall pushed the portrait back open and went outside. The whole common room listened with bated breath, "Sir Cadogan, did you just let a man enter Gryffindor Tower?"

"Certainly, good lady!" Sir Cadogan said. Harry wasn't sure if he had suddenly gone deaf or something, because there was another stunned silence, both inside and outside the common room.

"Y-You did?" Professor McGonagall asked, "B-But the password!"

"He had 'em!" Sir Cadogan said proudly as Harry held his stomach drop. No, it wasn't possible. It had to be a joke, "Had the whole week's, my lady! Read 'em off a little piece of paper!"

No, Harry began shaking his head. It was a one in a million chance for that to be found by Sirius Black inside the castle. How had the man even gotten back into the castle!

Professor McGonagall pulled herself back through the portrait hole to face the stunned crowd, looking as white as the chalk she used in Transfiguration.

"W-Which person…" McGonagall said, her voice shaking, "Which abysmally f-foolish person w-wrote down this week's passwords and left them lying around?"

There was utter silence, broken by the smallest of terrified squeaks. Neville Longbottom, trembling from head to fluffy slippered toes, raised his hand slowly into the air.

* * *

><p>No one in Gryffindor Tower slept that night. They knew that the castle was being searched again, and the whole House stayed awake in the common room, waiting to hear whether Black had been caught. Professor McGonagall came back at dawn, to tell them that he had again escaped.<p>

Throughout the day, everywhere they went they saw signs of tighter security; Professor Flitwick could be seen teaching the front doors to recognize a large picture of Sirius Black; Filch was suddenly bustling up and down the corridors, boarding up everything from tiny cracks in the walls to mouse holes. Sir Cadogan had been fired. His portrait had been taken back to its lonely landing on the seventh floor (and turned to face the wall).

The Fat Lady had returned. She had been expertly restored, but was still extremely nervous, and had agreed to return to her job only on condition that she was given extra protection. A bunch of surly security trolls had been hired to guard her. They paced the corridor in a menacing group, talking in grunts and comparing the size of their clubs.

Harry couldn't help noticing that the statue of the one-eyed witch on the third floor remained unguarded and unblocked. It seemed that Fred and George had been right in thinking that they (and now Harry, Ron, and Hermione) were the only ones who knew about the hidden passageway within it.

"D'you reckon we should tell someone?" Harry asked Ron, who shrugged.

"We know he's not coming in through Honeyduke's." Ron said dismissively, "We would've heard if the shop had been broken into."

Harry, though not entirely proud of himself, was glad Ron took this view. If the one-eyed witch was boarded up too, he would never be able to go into Hogsmeade again.

Ron had become an instant celebrity. For the first time in his life, people were paying more attention to him than to Harry, and it was clear that Ron was rather enjoying the experience. Though still severely shaken by the night's events, he was happy to tell anyone who asked what had happened, with a wealth of detail.

"… I was asleep, and I heard this ripping noise, and I thought it was in my dream, you know? But then there was this draft… I woke up and one side of the hangings on my bed had been pulled down… I rolled over… and I saw him standing over me… like a skeleton, with loads of filthy hair… holding this great long knife, must've been twelve inches… and he looked at me, and I looked at him, and then I yelled, and he scampered…" Ron said as he turned to Harry.

"Why, though?" Ron added to Harry as the group of second year girls who had been listening to his chilling tale departed, "Why did he run?"

Harry had been wondering the same thing. Why had Black run? Did the madman get the wrong bed? If so, why hadn't he simply silenced Ron and proceeded to him then? No, Harry was sure there was more to it than that. Black had to know what Harry looked like at the least.

Something fishy was going on, and the incident had only added more questions than it answered…

"He must've known he'd have a job getting back out of the castle once you'd yelled and woken people up." Harry said thoughtfully, not entirely telling his full thought process, "He'd've had to kill the whole house to get back through the portrait hole… then he would've met the teachers…"

Neville was in total disgrace.

Professor McGonagall was so furious with him she had banned him from all future Hogsmeade visits, given him a detention, and forbidden anyone to give him the password into the tower. Poor Neville was forced to wait outside the common room every night for somebody to let him in, while the security trolls leered unpleasantly at him. None of these punishments, however, came close to matching the one his grandmother had in store for him. Two days after Black's break-in, she sent Neville the very worst thing a Hogwarts student could receive over breakfast; a Howler.

The school owls swooped into the Great Hall carrying the mail as usual, and Neville choked as a huge barn owl landed in front of him, a scarlet envelope clutched in its beak. Harry and Ron, who were sitting opposite him, recognized the letter as a Howler at once — Ron had got one from his mother the year before.

"Run for it, Neville." Ron advised as Neville didn't need telling twice. He seized the envelope, and holding it before him like a bomb, sprinted out of the hall, while the Slytherin table exploded with laughter at the sight of him. They heard the Howler go off in the entrance hall. Neville's grandmother's voice, magically magnified to a hundred times its usual volume, shrieking about how he had brought shame on the whole family, the House of Longbottom, and the name of it as well.

Harry, however, was too busy feeling sorry for Neville to notice immediately that he had a letter too. Hedwig got his attention by nipping him sharply on the wrist.

"Ouch! Oh… thanks, Hedwig."

Harry tore open the envelope while Hedwig helped herself to some of Neville's cornflakes. The note inside said:

_**Dear Harry and Ron,**_

_**How about having tea with me this afternoon 'round six? I'll come collect you from the castle. WAIT FOR ME IN THE ENTRANCE HALL; YOU'RE NOT ALLOWED OUT ON YOUR OWN.**_

_**Cheers,**_

_**Hagrid**_

"He probably wants to hear all about Black!" Ron said after reading the letter himself.

So at six o'clock that afternoon, Harry and Ron left Gryffindor Tower, passed the security trolls at a run, and headed down to the entrance hall.

Hagrid was already waiting for them.

* * *

><p>"Alright, Hagrid!" Ron said as Harry rolled his eyes, "S'pose you want to hear about Saturday night, do you?"<p>

"I've already heard all abou' it." Hagrid said, opening the front doors and leading them outside as Ron deflated some.

"Oh…" Ron said, looking slightly put out while Harry snickered at him. Ron punched him in the arm as he slugged him back.

"Ow! Bloody hell, Harry. That hurt." Ron said, rubbing at his arm.

"Sorry." Harry said, though not looking it.

The first thing they saw on entering Hagrid's cabin was Buckbeak, who was stretched out on top of Hagrid's patchwork quilt, his enormous wings folded tight to his body, enjoying a large plate of dead ferrets. Averting his eyes from this unpleasant sight, Harry saw a gigantic, hairy brown suit and a very horrible yellow-and-orange tie hanging from the top of Hagrid's wardrobe door.

"What are they for, Hagrid?" Harry asked, though he got the feeling he should have known.

"Buckbeak's case against the Committee fer the Disposal o' Dangerous Creatures." Hagrid said with a tired sigh, "This Friday, ya know. Him an' me'll be goin' down ter London together. I've booked two beds on the Knight Bus…"

Harry felt a nasty pang of guilt. He had completely forgotten that Buckbeak's trial was so near, and judging by the uneasy look on Ron's face, he had too. They had also forgotten their promise about helping him prepare Buckbeak's defense; the arrival of the Firebolt had driven it clean out of their minds. Harry wished that Byakuya or even Soi Fon had been around so he could ask them where he had put his notes for Hagrid.

Hagrid had poured them tea and offered them a plate of Bath buns, but they knew better than to accept; they had had too much experience with Hagrid's cooking.

"I got somethin' ter discuss with you two." Hagrid said, sitting himself between them and looking uncharacteristically serious.

"What is it?" Harry asked carefully.

"Hermione." Hagrid said as Ron tensed and Harry leaned back in his seat coolly.

"What about her?" Ron asked with his arms crossed.

"She's in a righ' state, that's what. She's bin comin' down ter visit me a lot since Chris'mas. Bin feelin' lonely. Firs' yeh weren' talking to her because o' the Firebolt, now yer not talkin' to her because her cat-"

"– ate Scabbers!" Ron interjected angrily as Harry sighed.

"Because her cat acted like all cats do." Hagrid continued doggedly, "She's cried a fair few times, yeh know. Goin' through a rough time at the moment. Bitten off more'n she can chew, if yeh ask me, all the work she's tryin' ter do. Still found time ter help me with Buckbeak's case, mind you… She's found some really good stuff fer me… reckon he'll stand a good chance now…"

"Hagrid, we should've helped as well… I'm so sorry…" Harry began awkwardly.

"I'm not blamin' yeh!" said Hagrid, waving Harry's apology aside as his friends normally did, "Gawd knows yeh've had enough ter be getting' on with. I've seen yeh practicin' Quidditch ev'ry hour o' the day an' night, but I gotta tell yeh, I thought you two'd value yer friend more'n broomsticks or rats. That's all."

Harry and Ron exchanged uncomfortable looks.

"Really upset, she was, when Black nearly stabbed yeh, Ron. She's got her heart in the right place, Hermione has, an' you two not talkin' to her-"

"If she'd just get rid of that cat, I'd speak to her again!" Ron said angrily, "But she's still sticking up for it! It's a maniac, and she won't hear a word against it!"

"Ah… well, people can be a bit stupid abou' their pets." Hagrid said wisely.

Behind him, Buckbeak spat a few ferret bones onto Hagrid's pillow.

They spent the rest of their visit discussing Gryffindor's improved chances for the Quidditch Cup. At nine o'clock, Hagrid walked them back up to the castle.

* * *

><p>A large group of people was bunched around the bulletin board when they returned to the common room.<p>

"Hogsmeade, next weekend!" Ron said, craning over the heads to read the new notice. "What d'you reckon?" he added quietly to Harry, "Umm… Harry…?"

Where did Harry go so fast?

"Soi Fon! What is the meaning of this?" Harry asked as he found himself moving at the speed of sound, up staircases and past doors while Soi Fon gripped his shoulder forcing him into said speed.

The young petite ninja girl said nothing as she kept her face a stern cool. Harry would have felt much better if she had at least warned him, but with her not haven't spoken to him in two months…

Had he done something wrong? Had he hurt her in someway? He couldn't think of-

"We're here." Soi Fon said impassively as Harry felt the world around him go back to normal. They were standing outside of the Seventh Floor room, and Soi Fon was biting her lower lip.

"Soi Fon…" Harry began as she raised a hand, silencing him.

"Please, Harry, just listen…" Soi Fon said quietly as Harry sighed and stood silent.

"My name is Sui-Feng, not Soi Fon or Soifon." Soi Fon said as Harry was about to interject, but she silenced him with a hand once again, "However, that doesn't matter, because I don't much care what people call me."

"I was born Shaolin Feng into the Feng house, which is one of the lower noble houses affiliated with the Shihoin noble house; one of the Four Great Noble Houses of the Soul Society alongside the Kuchiki, the Shiba, and the former Tousen house." Soi Fon said as Harry stayed quiet.

"I was in the 9th Generation of my family, and as the youngest of six siblings, I too joined the forces of the Stealth Force as was tradition in my family. Upon joining the militia, I dropped my given name of Shaolin Feng, and inherited the code name that my great-grandmother had used, Sui-Feng." Soi Fon said as she began to gain a more somber look as her tone got quieter.

"Out of my five older siblings, two had died on the first mission, then two more on the second… The last one died on our sixth mission…" Soi Fon said as she looked down at the floor beneath her while Harry wanted to reach out and touch her, but knew he shouldn't. She had to get pass her own past, and his gestures wouldn't help now that she was starting to reveal her past to him. He'd comfort her later…

That was, if he had the chance to…

"I was so sad and angry that I couldn't protect them. I hated my weakness with a passion, and when my last brother had died, I vowed never to be so weak again. So, as a member of the militia, I trained intensely in order to become as strong as our leader, the Corps-Commander, Yoruichi Shihoin… the person I had come to adore and idolize more than anyone."

"Seven years later, my efforts finally paid off when Lady Yoruichi took notice of my talent and promoted me to become one of her personal guards." Soi Fon said with a somber chuckle, "Initially, our differing personalities seemed to clash due to Lady Yoruichi's laid back nature, however, I dedicated my life to my master; happy to put my life on the line for her. In turn, Lady Yoruichi took me under her wing as her protégée, and we developed a close relationship as student and mentor." Soi Fon finished as Harry stared at her.

"Soi Fon…"

"When you... When you spoke of Sirius Black, it made me remember how angry I was at the Hollows that killed my brothers. How I trained until my hands bled in order to grow stronger." Soi Fon said as she turned from Harry, "It made me think of how Lady Yoruichi saved me from working myself into an early grave like my brothers. How she took me, and guided me on my own path. I thought of you, and how alike you two are when you're allowed to be yourself. I looked to you as a mentor as well, but then I realized something. I'm the one who needs to help you; not the other way around. You reminded me of myself the way I was before Lady Yoruichi, and now I see how she must have felt when she choose me. So now, I'll be the one doing the teaching. I'll be the mentor and the student, and we'll help each other along the way." Soi Fon said as she turned back to Harry, tears rolling down her face as she gave him a smile.

"I… Soi Fon… You…" Harry stumbled to find the right words before he gave up with a sigh, and smiled at her, "You're right. Let's help each other. Teaching and learning together." Harry said as he suck out his hand.

Soi Fon clasped it, and they shook, an agreement they'd use to strengthen their bonds of friendship.

* * *

><p>They went inside the room where the others looked to have been waiting for them. Jushiro and Ginrei stood around a crystal ball of some kind while Mayuri and his researchers looked to be about to film something while they wrote feverishly, glancing up every now and then. Byakuya seemed to have been getting impatient, but upon seeing Harry, the noble boy smiled and gave a nod.<p>

"Glad to see you're here. I was starting to think the Demon Cat's servant had gotten lost or something." Byakuya said as Soi Fon merely scoffed at him.

"Harry, do you know why you're here?" Jushiro asked as Harry shook his head.

"No, but I have a feeling you're going to tell me." Harry said as Jushiro smiled, but then his face became an unusual serious.

"You're amount of power is unusual, Harry. To have gained so much spiritual energy from us… Well, it isn't possible. So that leaves us with one answer as to why and how you've gained so much power in so short a time." Jushiro said as Mayuri stepped forward.

"You, Harry, have finally awakened your latent potential." Mayuri said as Harry raised a brow.

"Huh?" Harry asked as Mayuri advanced on him.

"There are Humans who have spiritual powers when they're alive, only being able to tab into them during times of extreme distress or when in dangerous situations that push the human body to it's limits. After the human dies, they usual end up having those spiritual powers later on and become Soul Reapers as we are. You however, are a different case, Harry Potter." Mayuri said, as if observing a specimen under a microscope, and he was starting to scary Harry as he moved toward him like a deadly predator, "You took the barest specs of our energies that leaked out into you, and used them to begin the awakening of your own bound powers. Then, once your energies were near their release, they began to leak onto others and began to awaken their latent powers as well. The only reason you haven't exploded is because of that leak, and the fact that you are accustom to the level of power you are about to unleash. Henceforth, you Harry, have been unconsciously at the level of Captain and in recent months, have been adjusting to a level of even greater power."

"Huh? What do you mean- Ugh-"

* * *

><p>Harry didn't get to finish his statement as Mayuri's sword was stabbed into his stomach.<p>

"And now, with this finally push. We'll awaken the beast that sleeps within, and un-cage your full potential." Mayuri said with a slightly twisted grin as Harry's vision went with a blinding light.

Then he felt it… It was as if he were falling… But… it was so dark… He couldn't tell if he was…

"_Then stand up." a voice boomed calmly from all sides._

"_I can't… I'm falling…" Harry replied weakly. He felt so tired. All he wanted to do was fall… and sleep forever…_

"_But if you sleep, you die." the voice said as Harry's eyes went wide, "And if you die, then who will protect your friends? Who will defeat Voldemort when nearly all are afraid to speak his name? Who will help Soi Fon with her past? Who will be a friend to Byakuya? To Mayuri? To those to come and need you to set them on their path?"_

_Harry fought the sleep. He couldn't leave them behind. They needed him! He needed them! Harry fought until he found ground under his feet, and with that Harry stood._

"_Good. You've taken the first step, but it is not over yet." The boomingly calm voice said from every direction._

_Before Harry could question the voice, a light shone on him, and then expanded out to show the inside of a familiar castle… Hogwarts! He was inside of-_

"_This is not Hogwarts. Merely a happy memory I have used to form a temporary mindscape for you while we proceed. Now, choose." the voice said as hundreds of boxes filled the emptiness of the Great Hall._

"_Choose? But how, they're all the same." Harry said as the voice scoffed._

"_Look closer, Harry Potter. Choose with your heart, not with your eyes." the voice said, though still booming, it seemed to soften some._

_And Harry closed his eyes. He didn't understand what it did until he began to see white ribbons, but what was so special about that. They, too, were all the same. All white, even as Harry turned his body, they were all-_

_No, there! Near the staff table! Harry opened his eyes as he ran toward the table from the entrance. It was there, the only one different. The red ribbon among all white!_

_Harry was halfway toward it when the room shook violently. Harry had to stop in his tracks so he could regain his footing._

_Then he heard it, maniacal laughter as the entrance he had just stood at seemed to collaspe and fall into darkest. The laughter came from all directions as the room began to fall apart._

"_**Run, little King, run**__! __**Wha, ha mwha**__!" the twisted and chaotic voice of insane pleasure laughed out as Harry didn't need to be told twice. He booked it for all he was worth, jumping over holes to the darkness as the scenery around him gave way and fell._

"_Do not slow! You must hurry!" the boomingly calm voice yelled in frantic haste as Harry felt his lungs burning. Then, just as he was about to reach it, the steps up to the staff table fell into the darkness._

_However, Harry didn't care much as those steps and most of the boxes fell to darkness. His eyes were locked on the one box as he jumped the distance._

_His jump was too short as he, the box, and everything else fell. But, he outstretched his hand, reaching desperately for the box that was falling just out of his grasp. He felt so hopeless, so useless…_

_No! He wouldn't dare give in! Not when they needed him! Not when Ron and Hermione were fighting! When Draco and Soi Fon were starting to open up to him! When Mayuri was starting to become a nicer more sociable person! When he had yet to beat Byakuya in a foot race! When he had yet to apologize for the months of sickness he had put Jushiro through!_

_Harry used whatever power he had left and jumped with all his might. The box might have smack him in the face when he over jumped it, but his hands wrapped tightly around it, none the less._

"_Hurry and open it, you fool!" the booming voice said as Harry obeyed with a nod._

_He opened the box, only to see the hilt to a sword. It was like the sword of Gryffindor, nor like the many Soul Reaper swords Harry had seen. In fact, it was rather plain. It looked like a standard-sized katana. From what Byakuya said about swords, most of them came in the form of katana as those with little to no control over their powers assumed different forms like broadswords, axes, or other such swords that Harry had only ever heard tale of._

_But this one… it felt weird as he grasped the hilt of it and pulled it out to look at the guard. The wrappings around the black hilt were green like his eyes, and the guard was English, making it appear as if the katana, when drawn from it's sheath, would be a rapier or an English straight blade. Maybe even a double-bladed saber. But, no, Harry saw, or rather felt, that it was a katana. The guard, which was two curved lines that extended outward in opposite directions seemed to play a sort of yin-yang way to them. Then, in a decorative markings on the inside of the guard, around the hilt formed a sort of crown. It wasn't fancy, but it was a crown._

"_Good, can you fight?" the boomingly calm voice asked, almost in a purr as Harry blinked._

"_What?" Harry asked, but raised the sword and found that, on instinct, he had blocked the sword of another being._

_"I asked if you could fight." the booming voice had become only calm and slightly sadistic as Harry's eyes were as wide as saucers._

_Harry looked into the face of the being. Harry had never seen the person before as he gazed down at Harry impassively while they've sword grinded against one another. The guy looked to be no older than Harry, with dull green eyes that were just as emotionless as his gaze. He had jet black hair that was just as unkempt as Harry's own, which stopped just short of reaching his shoulders. He wore a tattered white undershirt, dark black pants and boots that seemed to run into each other seamlessly, and a long flowing black overcoat with a green hue that flared out into ragged ends and a black hood to it. The most unusual part of his appearance was the tiny little golden crown that sat to the side of his head, not seeming to move an inch out of place as the guy's head moved._

"_Where are you looking?" the guy said as he showed his strength by pushing Harry back and driving him into a wall._

_Wait… a wall?_

_Sure enough, there was an entire wall behind Harry as the guy stood in the middle of the Great Hall once again, but this time there were no tables or anything else in their way as the guy readied his sword once again._

"_Get up! I know you, and that little push isn't enough to put you down!" the guy yelled as he charged at Harry faster than Harry thought possible for one who looked so calm and patient. Harry dodged out of the way just in time as when the man's sword made contact to the wall, it caused an explosion of dust and debris._

_Just what was this guy…?_

"_You want to know what I am?" the teen stranger asked calmly as he got up and raised his sword, "You know me. I've been with you your whole life. I kept you sane after Voldemort murdered your parents. I kept the darkest from taking control during those cold night under the cupboard. I kept those evil thoughts of killing your relatives from your mind as they worked you like a slave. I protected you, loved you, and cared for you while you ignored me. You know who I am! Now what is my name!" the teen with his unmoving lopsided crown yelled as Harry could only stare at him in shock and confusion._

"_I'm sorry, but I don't know-" Harry didn't get to finish as he raised his sword to block the powerful, and now two-handed strike of the mysterious man._

"_You know who I am, dammit! Don't feed me that cock and bull about not knowing! You've always known me! I've been there for you forever! You know me, you just like to ignore me! But no more, dammit!" the guy roared as he pushed Harry to his knees, "Do you here me, Harry? No, bloody more will I be ignored! You've heard my whispers in your sleep! You've seen my face in your daydreams! What is my name, Harry? What's my name?"_

"_I… don't know-" Harry felt the crazed teen's foot collide with his stomach as he was kicked into the closed doors of the Great Hall._

"_Then I'll tell you one more time! And listen closely! My name is-"_

_And Harry heard. With his emerald eyes wide and his mouth agape, Harry heard the name of the crown-wearing teenager._

"_So that's your name. I'm so sorry." Harry said, but yelled I surprised pain as the teen's sword went through his shoulder and into the thick wooden door. The crown-wearer only grin as he leaned in to whisper in Harry's ear._

"_Don't think it's over yet, Harry. You and I are going to spent sometime together. And when I'm through with you, you'll never forget my name… Never again…" the teen whispered as he licked his lips sadistically._

* * *

><p>"Is he alright?" Soi Fon asked neutrally as her fists clenched at her sides. The blinding amount of power Harry had released had finally subsided, and now they were all waiting for the dust to clear as Mayuri had long since pulled his sword from Harry's chest.<p>

"He'll be just fine. He has his pride to uphold and protect." Byakuya said, his jaw set rigid as he watched for the dust to settle.

"I hope I didn't kill him." Mayuri said shortly, not even looking he wiped blood from his sword, though the quick glances he kept sending to the dust cloud said everything.

Jushiro and Ginrei were silent as they watched with their hands on their Zanpakuto. They weren't entirely sure what would immerge from the dust cloud, but they wanted to be ready.

Then, they saw a foot as the dust began to slowly drifted apart. Then, they heard coughing and hacking as they all grew worried.

"W-What the bloody hell is with all this -ack, uh- d-dust?" a voice said from the dust as it coughed. Then they saw a robed arm began to frantically waved away the dust.

The dust had finally settled as everyone looked upon the figure with both relief and shock. Standing there, in a Soul Reaper uniform was none other than Harry Potter. His glasses were askew and his hair was as messy as ever. He gave them a small smile as Soi Fon practically flung herself into his arms.

"I knew you wouldn't die! I just knew you wouldn't." Soi Fon cried as Harry chuckled.

"Die? What do you mean, die?" Harry asked as he chuckled.

"Well, Harry… we didn't want to tell you this, but the procedure we used to unlock your full power had a 90% chance of failure… or at least, that's Mayuri told us." Jushiro said as he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly.

"Oh, is that all?" Harry said calmly before he cracked, appearing in front of Mayuri with his hand clenched around the other's collar while Mayuri looked away with indifference, "What the bloody hell do you mean 90% chance of failure? Mayuri were you trying to kill me?"

"Calm down. You're alive aren't you? You bet the odds, hooray for you." Mayuri said impassively with a shrug, "Besides, I knew that if anyone could survive the procedure, it would undoubtedly be you."

"Oh… Aww, you had faith in me." Harry cooed as Mayuri's white-painted cheeks went red quickly.

"I did not! I was simply stating that you're too idiotic to die! Are you listening to me, dammit? Moron!"

"Anyways- Wait! Is that my body?" Harry asked as he saw his motionless body on the floor.

"Oh, yes. You see. Mayuri stabbed you through your Soul Chain, and Soul Sleep. By doing so while you were in Human form, he forced your body to it's final point, forcing it to unlock your hidden power to save you from certain doom. So… in a way… he stopped you from dying by killing you. Which makes you a Soul Reaper! Hooray!" Jushiro said nervously as Harry grabbed him.

"What kind of cock and bull story is that! You people killed me! Murders! And what do you mean I'm dead! I can't be-"

"Enough!" Soi Fon and Byakuya shouted as Harry and the others turned to them.

"Sorry…" Harry muttered as he let go of Jushiro, "You know… about everything…"

"Not a problem, Harry. You shouldn't beat yourself up about it." Jushiro said as Harry sighed.

"So, what now?" Harry asked as Jushiro shrugged.

"Nothing more for today. I think we've put you through enough for one day. Just be sure to keep this on your person at all times." Jushiro said as he handed Harry a creepy looking badge. It had a skull and cross mark on it while Harry stuffed it into his shirt.

"That is a Substitute Soul Reaper Badge. It will allow you to instantly assume Soul form, allowing your soul to leave it's body should you need to. It will also alert you to any in coming dangers and such." Jushiro said as Harry nodded, picking up his body as Byakuya kicked him into it. As soon as he regained himself, he punched Byakuya in the arm.

"Okay… But, I have just one more question. How did you guys know I would be ceoming to you soon to become your liaison?" Harry asked as Jushiro sweat-dropped.

"Really now…? Umm… we can see the future…?" Jushiro said lamely as Harry scowled at his white-haired friend.

"You had no idea, did you?" Harry said as Byakuya gave him a thumbs up.

"None at all. We just need you to get control over your spiritual pressure before you crushed someone." Byakuya said as Ginrei nodded silently, though he was eyeing the badge Harry was stuffing into his robes.

"Hachi! You can use it now!" Soi Fon shouted as Hachi appeared from the second floor.

"Really, Ms. Sui-Feng? Is it my turn? Oh, hello young Harry!" Hachi said as he and Harry waved at each other.

Before Harry could do anything or say anything, he saw Soi Fon flash-stepping toward him. She grabbed his shoulder and then took him in a side-along flash-step all the way back to the Gryffindor Tower. Though what was weird was that everything appeared green to Harry's vision, rather than just extremely slow as it had before.

* * *

><p>"Hogsmeade, next weekend!" Ron said, craning over the heads to read the new notice.<p>

Harry blinked as he regained focus to the world. Hadn't Ron already said that? And why did he feel like he had been rushed for time with Soi Fon and the others? Were they planning something? Did they not have time to chat with him? He was so confused-

"Harry!"

"Huh? What?" Harry said as Ron gave him a look.

"I asked what do you reckon about going to Hogsmeade through the You-Know-What?" Ron said quietly to Harry as they went to sit down.

"Huh? Oh, right. Umm… Well, Filch hasn't done anything about the passage into Honeydukes…" Harry said, even more quietly still confused as to what was going on around him.

"Harry!" a voice said in his right ear. Harry jumped, started as he looked around at Hermione, who was sitting at the table right behind them and clearing a space in the wall of books that had been hiding her.

"Harry, if you go into Hogsmeade again… Then, I'll… I'll… I'll tell Professor McGonagall about that map!" Hermione whispered loudly.

"Can you hear someone talking, Harry?" Ron growled, not looking at Hermione.

"Ron, how can you let him go with you? After what Sirius Black nearly did to you! I mean it, I'll tell-"

"So now you're trying to get Harry expelled!" Ron said furiously, making Hermione flinch, "Haven't you done enough damage to him and me this year?"

Hermione opened her mouth to respond, but with a soft hiss to silence her, Harry saw Crookshanks leap onto the bushy-haired girl's lap. Hermione took one frightened look at the furious expression on Ron's face before she gathered up Crookshanks in her arms, and hurried away toward the girls' dormitories.

"So how about it?" Ron said to Harry as though there had been no interruption, "Come on, last time we went you didn't see anything. You haven't even been inside Zonko's yet!"

Harry looked around to check that Hermione was well out of earshot. Be sure she was, and that he could feel Soi Fon's presence, Harry nodded.

"Okay." Harry said, "But I'm taking the Invisibility Cloak this time."

"And in the mean time, you'll be training with us." Soi Fon whispered in Harry's ear while Byakuya nodded on the other side of him. Before he knew it, he was being dragged back toward the Seventh Floor.

"Oh well, here we go again." Harry said with a shrug, allowing himself to be dragged onward.


	11. Grim and Hollow, the Finale!

_**Well, here we are; the final countdown!**_

_**In this chapter, Harry will have the fight of his life, and find out a secret of Severus Snape! Oh, and he'll grow closer to some of the characters and molest Draco. Yeah… there's even more in the chapter just waitin' for ya! So go ahead, and dig in!**_

_**Oh and one more thing, some things in this chapter may not add up to you (like the Bleach character being in it when you aren't sure they were are at the time) but please remember that they may or may not have been around and that the whole age of the Bleach Soul Characters is debatable until the show ends. Oh well…**_

_**Hope you enjoy.**_

**Chapter 11: Grim and Hollow, the Finale!**

* * *

><p>On Saturday morning, Harry had packed his Invisibility Cloak in his bag, slipped the Marauder's Map into his pocket, and went down to breakfast with everyone else.<p>

A lot had happened in the week, but not much at all. Harry wasn't allowed to do much physical practice work, mostly the same thing he had been doing before while around his Soul Reaper friends; just talking to them while they did their duties, or watched some of the officer or ninja train. He hadn't even gotten into his Soul Reaper form while Jushiro said that the true training could until after things had settled down a bit. Harry wasn't sure why, but he didn't much care as he focused on the promise of training rather than the actual beginning of it.

Because all the Soul Reapers could tell that Harry would happy train during the summer and be away from the Dursley household without any complains.

All throughout breakfast, Hermione kept shooting suspicious looks down the table at him, but he avoided her eyes expertly as he sipped at his tea, turning to see if Luna had come to breakfast, but she hadn't. Harry was careful to let Hermione see him walking back up the marble staircase in the entrance hall as everybody else proceeded to the front doors.

"Bye!" Harry called to Ron, "See you when you get back!"

Ron grinned and winked.

* * *

><p>Harry hurried up to the third floor, slipping the Marauder's Map out of his pocket as he went. He felt Soi Fon drop down behind him, matching his pace with practiced ease.<p>

"You're not going to Hogsmeade." Soi Fon said sternly as he stopped to crouch behind the one-eyed witch.

"And why not, _Sui-Feng_?" Harry said, teasing her with the correct way of saying her name.

Despite the blush that spread across her cheeks, she looked as un-amused and stern as ever.

"Because this is the perfect chance for you to truly begin your Soul Reaper training with most of the school gone away. Besides, it's too dangerous." Soi Fon said as Harry scoffed while he smoothed the map out.

"I'm going to Hogsmeade. You're either coming with me, or staying behind." Harry said as he chuckled.

"You're not going- Wait, someone's coming; 23 away, on your six." Soi Fon said as Harry blinked, not understanding her funny-talk. However, looking at the map Harry frowned as, indeed, a tiny dot was moving toward his position. Harry squinted at it, the minuscule writing next to said dot reading Neville Longbottom.

Harry quickly pulled out his wand and muttered a "_**Dissendium**_!" before shoving his bag into the statue, but before he could climb in himself, Neville came around the corner.

"Harry! I forgot you weren't going to Hogsmeade either!" Neville said as Soi Fon hid.

"Hi, Neville." Harry said, moving swiftly away from the statue and pushing the map back into his pocket, "What are you up to?"

"Nothing." Neville said with a shrug, "Want a game of Exploding Snap?"

"No thanks. I was just about to go to the library to get some books." Harry said coolly as Neville face lit up surprisingly.

"Oh, I'll come with you!" Neville said brightly, "I haven't finish that essay Profesor Lupin gave us on Vampires!"

"Well… I don't really need to go to the library, since I already finished mine." Harry said as Neville shrugged with a smile on his face.

"Great, then you can help me!" Neville said, his round face anxious, "I don't understand that thing about the garlic at all. I mean, do they have to eat it, or-"

Neville didn't finish as he broke off with a small gasp, looking over Harry's shoulder. Harry gazed over his shoulder at the tall black cloaked figure. It was Snape, and Neville took a quick step behind Harry.

"And what are you two doing here?" Snape said, coming to a halt and looking from one to the other, "An odd place to meet, isn't it, Potter…?"

To Harry's immense dismay, Snape's dark tunnel eyes flicked to the doorways on either side of them, and then to the one-eyed witch.

"We're not _meeting_ here." Harry said with a shrug, "We just _met_ here is all."

"Indeed." Snape said, his voice betraying nothing, "You have a habit of turning up in unexpected places, Potter, and you are very rarely there for no good reason… I suggest the pair of you return to Gryffindor Tower, where you belong."

"I could have sworn that we students were allowed to be anywhere in the castle on the weekend. Is that not true?" Harry said coolly as Snape raised a brow.

"Yes, it is true, but good students who have nothing to hide and aren't up to anything wouldn't have to bring up such things. Right, Potter?" Snape said back as Harry shrugged.

"Just checking a fact, Snape." Harry said defiantly as Snape looked to resist the urge to roll his eyes, "Unless you'd like to take this to Professor Dumbledore?"

"The Headmaster has no time for-" Snape broke off as he suddenly looked to the one-eyed witch, "Come out! Now!"

Harry's eyes widened as Snape stalked over to the other side of the statue and pulled Soi Fon out from her hiding place.

None of the four there were left with their jaws not being on the ground. Even the ever impassive Severus Snape looked to be stunned at his own discovery as he held onto Soi Fon's arm like she was some disobedient child.

"Let go of her!" Harry yelled as Snape snapped back to himself in an instant.

"Oh? You know her, Potter?" Snape said coolly as he let go of Soi Fon.

"And if I did?" Harry shot back.

"Who is she?" Neville asked timidly as all eyes went back to the nervous boy.

"I am Sui-Feng, and I have expressed permission to watch over one Harry Potter from the shadows. Now then, if you'll excuse me." Soi Fon said as she disappeared into the nearest shadow.

Snape and Neville turned to give Harry looks as he shrugged.

"What can I say; fan-girls." Harry said with a shake of his head. He was still too shocked that not only did Snape _see_ Soi Fon, but that _Neville_ had as well.

"Mr. Longbottom, leave us." Snape said in a whisper as he scowled at Harry.

Neville didn't need to be told twice as he ran for all he was worth.

"How are you able to see her, Potter?" Snape asked as Harry dropped any and all pretenses of causal coyness around Snape.

"How are you?" Harry bit back as Snape's scowl deepened.

"I simply am. You?" Snape said, not trying to play nice either.

"Same here." Harry said while crossing his arms.

"You and I shall talk about this later." Snape said as he and Harry stared each other down for a long while.

* * *

><p>Harry surmised that it'd be too suspicious if he stayed any longer glancing at the one-eyed witch, so he turned on hell and stalked off. As he turned the corner, Harry looked back only to see Snape running one of his hands over the one-eyed witch's head and examining it closely while muttering words under his breath.<p>

Harry managed to shake Neville off when he got to the Fat Lady by telling the timid boy the password, then pretending he'd left his bags (which contained his vampire essay) in the library and doubled back.

Once out of sight of the security trolls, he pulled out the map again and held it close to his nose while Soi Fon appeared beside him.

"That was rude and unfriendly what you did to him." Soi Fon as Harry scoffed.

"I'll make it up to him later. Besides, you're one to talk the way you hit guys in their privates to train your ninja buddies." Harry said as he ducked her backhand to his face.

"The third floor corridor seems to be deserted…" Harry said as he scanned the map carefully and saw, with a leap of relief, that the tiny dot labeled Severus Snape was now back in its office.

He and Soi Fon sprinted back to the one-eyed witch, only to see Byakuya standing there waiting for him.

"Yo." Byakuya said simply as Harry grabbed the noble boy, opened the witch's hump, heaved himself and Byakuya inside with Soi Fon following them. They slid down to meet Harry's bag at the bottom of the stone chute while Byakuya was muttering Japanese swears under his breath. Harry took a deep breath as he wiped the Marauder's Map blank again, then set off at a run that Byakuya and Soi Fon seemed to have a hard time keeping up with.

"Put that thing on before you go up." Soi Fon hissed sternly as Harry, frowned.

* * *

><p>Now completely hidden beneath the Invisibility Cloak, emerged into the sunlight outside Honeydukes and prodded Ron in the back.<p>

"It's me." Harry muttered.

"What kept you?" Ron hissed out as Harry sighed.

"Snape and I were having a conversation while he was hanging around." Harry said impassively.

"You and him talk?" Ron asked in surprise as Harry only pushed him forward as they set off up the High Street.

* * *

><p>"So, young Harry is able to see the Soul Reapers as well. Just as I expected." Dumbledore said as Snape paced his office, the old man's eyes twinkling.<p>

"I just don't understand, Albus. Why didn't Potter tell someone yet? Why didn't he think he was going crazy? Why didn't he tell _you_ he could see them?" Snape said as Dumbledore chuckled softly while leaning forward from behind his desk.

"Now Severus, did you tell anyone you could see them when you were a lad his age?" Dumbledore asked as Snape scoffed.

"Potter doesn't know what he's stumbled upon. He probably thinks them helpers for his inflated ego."

"Now Severus, you must stop this. Harry is not James. He never will be, having never met his own father. Are you your father, Severus?"

"How _dare_ you ask such a question! I could _never_ be that accursed man!" Snape roared as Dumbledore didn't seem disturbed in the least.

"And yet, here you are attacking like him. Taking your woes and your frustrations out on children and those close to you. Yet Harry, who has just as many woes and worries, tries to find condolence in friends and confides. The paints tell me he's been more open with his classmates, and that he smiles more. His other teachers tell me he's doing better in their classes by leaps and bounds, grasping the lessons with deductive thinking and logical fore-step. I've even heard talk from his peers, who say that he's now more daring and intelligent than ever. He's become very popular, helping not only his Housemates, but also the other Houses students." Dumbledore said as Snape stood in front of his desk, "Perhaps it is thanks to the Soul Reapers that he is now coming out of his shell and showing us what he can really do. Tell me, Severus, is he not doing better in your class as well?"

Snape looked as though he had swallowed a lemon the way his lips thinned, "He is. Despite my condescending and crassly cruel nature toward him, he and I have had many discussions now on the application of potions and new brewing techniques while we wait for the potions to simmer down or while he's working. He won't tell me where he's getting all these theories and organic-concepts from, but now I have a clue as to where."

"Then is it so bad to allow him a bit of freedom?" Dumbledore as Snape glared.

"He's endangering himself! He is also defying rules that everyone else must follow! You and those simpletons are the reason he feels rules and laws don't apply to him!" Snape snapped as Dumbledore only raised a brow.

"Perhaps, but what would he, and any other child for that matter, be without a little bit of rule-breaking. I, myself, find the Weasley twins to be just as enjoyable humorous as-"

"Please, don't speak _their_ names here in my presence. Fine! Let Potter get himself killed! I don't care anymore!" Snape said, trying to stalk out of the room.

"Severus…" Dumbledore said quietly, making Snape stop in his tracks, "Please watch out for him. He's only a child. Barely 13 years-old, and he's knowing of the Soul Reapers' existence will endanger him more than ever. We can only hope our back-up plan went as we thought should trouble arise and we are not there to help him."

Snape was quiet for a long pause as his hand gripped the doorknob tightly and a scowl formed on his face, "… I will think about it…" was all he said before he turned the knob.

"Oh, and don't mind me if I'm not here, should you return. There is a rather interesting tapestry on the Seventh Floor I'm rather fond of seeing. So, I do ask that you excuse my absence and inform any that should come looking for me."

Snape said nothing as he exited through the door, slamming it closed on his way out.

* * *

><p>"Where are you?" Ron kept muttering out of the corner of his mouth as he and Harry wondered Hogsmeade for Harry to see all the sights, "Are you still there? This feels weird…"<p>

They had went into the post office with Ron pretending to check the price of an owl to Bill in Egypt so that Harry could have a good look around. The owls sat hooting softly down at him, at least three hundred of them; from Great Grays right down to tiny little Scops owls ("Local Deliveries Only"), which were so small they could have sat in the palm of Harry's hand. Byakuya scoffed at the use of owls.

"Why use an overly large owl when you could use a beautiful butterfly?" Byakuya said as Harry gave him an odd look while Soi Fon shrugged.

Then they visited Zonko's, which was so packed with students Harry had to exercise great care not to tread on anyone and cause a panic. There were jokes and tricks to fulfill even Fred's and George's wildest dreams; Harry gave Ron whispered orders and passed him some gold from under the cloak. They left Zonko's with their money bags considerably lighter than they had been on entering, but their pockets bulging with Dungbombs, Hiccup Sweets, Frog Spawn Soap, and a Nose-Biting Teacup apiece.

"All of that is childish and disgusting…" Soi Fon muttered as Harry and Byakuya looked at each other.

"Exactly!" they said as though it made perfect sense while Soi Fon scoffed at them.

The day was fine and breezy, and neither Harry or Ron felt like staying indoors, so they walked past the Three Broomsticks and climbed a slope to visit the Shrieking Shack, the most haunted dwelling in Britain. It stood a little way above the rest of the village, and even in daylight was slightly creepy, with its boarded windows and dank overgrown garden.

"Even the Hogwarts ghosts avoid it." Ron said as he leaned on the fence, looking up at it, "I asked Nearly Headless Nick… he says he's heard a very rough crowd lives here. No one can get in. Fred and George tried, obviously, but all the entrances are sealed shut…"

"And the legend continues…" Harry muttered as he saw Byakuya and Soi Fon flash-stepping back from trying to get into the house.

"I win, Demon Cat servant!" Byakuya said as he appeared first, "Oh, and it's no good trying to get in. There seems to be a barrier or something that keeps physical spirits out."

"My name is Sui-Feng, _not_ demon cat servant!" Soi Fon yelled, "And Lady Yoruichi is _not_ a demon cat!"

Harry ignored the two bickering as he, feeling hot from their climb up hill, was considering taking off the cloak for a few minutes when Soi Fon and Byakuya suddenly stopped their yelling. They, like Harry, had heard voices nearby.

Someone was climbing toward the house from the other side of the hill.

Moments later, Draco had appeared, followed closely by Pansy, Blaise, Theo, Crabbe, and Goyle with Draco was speaking.

"… and I should have an owl from Father any time now. He had to go to the hearing to tell them about my arm. You know how he'd drag on even though I said not to, about how I couldn't use it for three months… I swear to Merlin-"

Crabbe and Goyle sniggered even though Draco glared at them with his fists clenched at his sides.

"I really wish Harry would have let me know the hearing was yesterday. I could have gone and tried to stop it or something. Now that Hippogriff's as good as dead, and Harry'll never kiss-"

Draco suddenly caught sight of Ron, his pale face fell as he rolled his stormy grey eyes

"What are you doing here, Weasley?" Draco asked, almost casually aside from the way he scowled as he spoke to Ron. Draco crossed his arms as he looked up at the crumbling house behind Ron, smirking as he glanced back at Ron.

"Suppose you'd love to live there, wouldn't you, Weasley? Dreaming about having your own bedroom? I heard your family all sleep in one room. Is that true?" Draco asked, almost teasingly, though his biting tone told Harry everything.

Harry seized the back of Ron's robes to stop him from leaping on Malfoy as he smirked under his cloak.

"Leave him to me." Harry hissed in Ron's ear.

The opportunity was too perfect to miss, Harry thought with a grin as he crept silently behind Draco.

"We were just discussing your friend Hagrid." Draco said to Ron, "Just trying to imagine what he's saying to the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures. D'you think he'll cry when they cut off his Hippogriff's-"

Draco didn't get to finish what he was saying as he suddenly went stiff as a board and his face as red as could possibly be. Ron only caught a few words of whatever Harry was telling Malfoy, those being "ferret" and "plaything". Draco sputtered out nonsense and his hands suddenly snapped to his bottom as a soft chuckle came from the air beside the silver-blond. Pansy, Goyle, and Crabbe looked worried for Draco, while Blaise and Theo looked utterly amused.

"Stop invisibly molesting Draco in broad daylight!" Pansy yelled when she saw the back of Draco's robes move out of the way mysteriously. Her face was as bright as torch fire as she stood there simmering.

Crabbe and Goyle were looking scared. Their bulging muscles were no use against ghosts, especially ghosts that could molest "the Frigid Slytherin Prince". Malfoy was staring madly around at the deserted landscape, his face going from embarrassed to orgasmic (a word Harry had learned from Fred and George). Byakuya and Soi Fon were just as red in the face as everyone else as they all stood and watched what an invisible Harry was doing to Draco, whose hair began to grow longer, and face began to become softer.

"Those ghosts, ya know." Blaise joked as he nudged Theo, who was having a tough time staying up right and laughing, "Never know when you'll be next."

"Ha, ha! Yeah. Poor Draco, having the good spirit all through him… or should I say her? Heh, heh!" Theo said as he caught a girlish moan coming from Draco while the blond's lips became poutier.

"N-No, stop, H-H-Harry!" Draco cried out through the moans as Ron finally snapped, his nose letting loose a rocket of blood as he fell back into unconsciousness.

"This is not for children!" Soi Fon cried as she covered Byakuya's eyes.

"Like you're one to talk!" Byakuya said as he covered Soi Fon's eyes. They both tried to peek through the other's hand, but couldn't as they began fighting.

"N-No, not there! S-Stop it! Not here, H-Harry!" Draco said, invisible arms groping the now full girl blonde as she didn't even struggle, "W-What? … Oh my, Harry… You n-naughty boy!"

"Okay, someone please stop them! They're 13 years-old!" Pansy cried out as Theo and Blaise stopped laughing and walked forward. Both taking an invisibly arm as they dragged Harry away from Draco as the blushing blonde sank to her knees and gasped for air.

"Hey! Let me down! I didn't even start half of what I was planning! Come on, guys! I just wanna show Draco my love!" Harry's voice cried out from nowhere.

"Sorry, but this ain' the place." Theo said impassively.

"Yeah, Har. You of all people should know not to tease the blushing bride." Blaise said as he turned his head, "Besides, man. Who are those two over there?" Blaise asked, jabbing a thumb at Byakuya and Soi Fon, who were wrestling in the snow.

"Apparently Bonnie and Clyde." Harry said with a sigh as his invisible form went over and slapped both the Soul Reapers.

"Hey!" the two cried out indignantly.

SPLATTER!

Harry looked back only to have ducked a wad of mud in time, perfectly aimed at his head by a furiously blushing Draco Malfoy, who looked to be a very angry girl.

"How dare you…! HOW DARE YOU!" Draco roared, her hair whipping in all directions as the snow around her began to kick up.

"Whoa! Another one with powers like Harry!" Byakuya said, bringing out his wooden practice sword.

"What you've done to me just now, Potter… IS UNFORGIVEABLE!" Draco yelled in fury, the air around them growing colder and heavier as dark clouds began to gather.

"Draco… calm down…" Harry tried, the faintest of glows wafting off of Draco in a silvery light.

"Calm down…? You just finished _molesting_ me in _public_! Then there's the fact that I've become a girl in public, you moron!" Draco yelled, her spiritual pressure increasing with each passing second of her rage. Pansy began to grasp at her throat as Harry's eyes widened.

"Okay! What do you want! Please, Draco, just calm down!" Harry yelled frantically as Draco's spiritual pressure decreased. Slowly, but surely, the temperature in the area rose and the clouds began to dissipate while Draco took deep calming breathes.

"You have made me besmirch the noble name of the Malfoy family, Potter. I want a foot rub when we get back to the castle." Draco said, her eyes closed as she stood like living apathy.

"That's it?" Harry asked, his eyebrow raised as he didn't see what the big deal was. That was until Draco gave a small smirk while her eyes were still closed.

"Oh, that's just the beginning. You may want to beat us back to the castle, because I shall be tattling, and there will be a list waiting for you. Ta ta, Harry love." Draco said as she turned on heel, and walked away with her posse while Harry's eyes were still wide.

"Don't worry man, we're leaving in a couple of hours. You've got plenty of time." Blaise said as he winked at Harry before dashing off to catch up with the others of Draco's group.

Then, as if summoned to do some unholy business like singing the "Timewarp" or reenacting Jem's fall from fame, students of young and sight-seers were coming onto the hill to see what all the commotion was mere seconds ago. Harry blinked, and before he knew it, he saw at least thirty people coming up toward the Shrieking Shack.

* * *

><p>"Well, we aren't staying around here." Byakuya said as he grasped a hold of Harry's shoulder.<p>

"Where will we go? Going back to the castle now would only-"

"Don't worry, Harry. I've got the perfect spot. Follow me." Byakuya said with a thumbs up as he dragged Harry along in his flash-step while Soi Fon followed. Halfway to wherever they were going, Byakuya let Harry go and he practiced his Flash-step, keeping pace with the two Soul Reapers easier than he thought he would.

Then they stopped and Harry nearly keeled over. The feeling of consciously stopping his flash-step was like being hit in the stomach by one of Dudley's more aggressive punches. Air quickly tried to fill his lungs as he coughed up saliva. Byakuya and Soi Fon both watched him impassively as he struggled to regain his breathing.

"You're new to it, so don't worry. Doing the flash-step isn't the hard part. It's getting used to the stopping and going that is. It's like when you dive into a pool. Ya know, that split second where you hold your breath, and your lungs feel like they'll burst from no air, and your stomach feels like it's been hit? But after a while, you develop your own tricks to stopping those feelings. That or you grow so used to them that they just stop." Byakuya said coolly as he shouldered his wooden Kendo blade.

"Sure… w-whatever…" Harry said, getting to his feet again as he started to feel better, "W-Where are we?"

"The edge of the barrier protecting the entire area. That means the entire castle grounds and that little town." Byakuya said as he tapped at thin air. But, when he did so, an orange ripple came to life like water in a pond before it settled back to invisibility.

"Whoa…" Harry said, touching the barrier and poking at it to makie the effect.

"Hey! That barrier's not a toy! Stop that!" Soi Fon said as Harry gave her a look, "Come near me, Potter, and you won't live to see what Soul Society looks like."

"Wouldn't I go there after you kill me?" Harry asked as Soi Fon grinned sadistically.

"Exactly." Soi Fon said as Harry shivered.

"Umm… so, why are we here, Byakuya?" Harry asked as Byakuya gave him a look.

"We're going outside of the barrier. Duh." Byakuya said as he stepped to the barrier, and then, passed through it like he had stepped through a waterfall.

"Is that safe?" Harry asked as Byakuya gave him another look.

"Grandfather said that this barrier is designed to keep Hollows like the Dementors out. So…" Byakuya said as he passed through the barrier again back to their side, "We can slip through, no problem."

"Major problem, brat." Soi Fon said as she crossed her arms, "The Kido Corps monitor the barrier at all times along with the Stealth Force. They'll know exactly who and when someone sneaks in or out."

"Yeah they would, but then, how did Sirius Black get in and out?" Byakuya asked as Soi Fon scowled, not answering, "Besides, every new arriving Soul Reaper has to enter from a Senkaimon on the outside of the barrier and exit from one inside the Mission Room. So like I said; no problem. Okay then, let's go!"

"But what if-"

"You know, you think too much. Let's go! I wanna check something out that I snagged from Grandfather's stash." Byakuya said, pushing Harry through the barrier as Soi Fon grumbled and followed them.

"What kind of stash are you talking about?" Harry asked as Byakuya frowned and blushed lightly.

"Dammit you baka! Not _that_ kind of stash, perv! His stash of Soul Reaper stuff from his days when he did field missions and stuff. Look." Byakuya said as he reached into his robes and pulled out a small flat round tablet. Harry didn't see what the big deal was, but the way Soi Fon's eyes widened and how she snatched it away from the young noble, he guessed it much have been something unpleasant.

"Have you lost your mind, brat! This is Hollow Bait! One of these little things could attract enough Hollows to give even a Seated Officer a hard time kill 'em all!" Soi Fon yelled as Byakuya scowled at her. As the two began to argue over the little pill, Harry took a seat and watched them in bored interest.

He just wished that someone would rescue him from the craziness of his life.

* * *

><p>"I wish you'd stop being so crazy, Hisagi!" a small voice yelled as it panted.<p>

"Come on, _Shiro_! Keep up!" a teasing voice called ahead of the younger voice.

"It's Hitsugaya, Hisagi!" the younger boy yelled as the marginally older boy laughed.

White hair bounced atop his head. His turquoise eyes focused on the dirt road ahead. Health peach skin flushed and drenched in sweat as he ran bare-footed to catch up to the older boy, who was waving and laughing at him cheerfully. How he hated being laughed at. Because he was Toshiro Hitsugaya, and he found _nothing_ about himself amusing. So what if he was short? So what if he was 11 years-old and still looked like a 6 year-old? So what if he had white hair and bright greenish-blue eyes? So what if he had a frosty personality? He didn't care, and he did _not_ find it funny the least bit.

Then there was him, Shuhei Hisagi. Toshiro had to admit that he was a bit jealous of the guy. They were the same age, and yet, Shuhei had the height of a 13 year-old. His hair wasn't weird, being black and short. His eyes weren't strange, being dark grey like many others. The guy wasn't cold in the least, greeting everyone warmly and friendly. Toshiro was jealous, because for some reason, he couldn't be like that and he hated it.

"It's right over here, Toshiro!" Shuhei said as he pointed up the road while Toshiro sighed. Great, more running for his short legs. He hated being short.

They ran alright, and Shuhei was as excited as Momo was when Toshiro's grandmother told the near starving girl she would be living with them. He didn't see why his grandmother, in all her wisdom, would pick up a stray, but he had no complains as the girl made herself useful, actually doing her share of the housework and chores. Then she found friends, who were afraid of him (naturally, Toshiro thought nastily with a sneer), and so they went to play while he was left by himself.

… Well, almost by himself. Shuhei, a boy from the Third District, was his friend at least. The boy didn't often make the trip across the districts, but when he did Toshiro was always happy. Shuhei was the only one who would play with him, even though he looked strange and had a cold attitude.

However, whenever Shuhei did in fat make the trip across the district that Toshiro was so glad for; trouble always seemed to follow.

"See, it's right there." Shuhei said as he and Toshiro hid behind some bushes when they came to a stop.

Apparently this time, Shuhei had managed to stumble across some Shinigami who always seemed to be coming in and out of the mountains of the West District. Though that wasn't the strange part.

"Just look… a Captain, Toshiro…" Shuhei said in awe, pointing to the white haori on the person's back.

Yeah, Captains and Lieutenants were so rarely seen near Rukon that Shuhei and Toshiro had been awe-struck. For one of them to be around was to give the entire area wide berth. Though as children, they didn't know that. So, when Shuhei had found the area while playing, and stumbled upon the elite Shinigami, he didn't much care even if he had known the unspoken rule. He had ran to Toshiro's place the next day, and here they were, watching as the Captain oversaw an operation of some kind.

"Come on, men! Put your backs into it!" the Captain yelled as a girl-haired girl came running toward them.

"And look!" Toshiro said, pointing at the girl's badge strapped to her forearm, "A Lieutenant…"

"Ken~sei! Why are we out here! It's hot, and boring, and there are no snacks!" the girl whined as Toshiro grimaced.

"Quiet, Mashiro!" the Captain, who must have been named Kensei, barked at the girl with an agitated look, "We're here because we have a job to do! Now quit your griping and help us load the equipment into the Senkaimon when it appears!"

"Captain Muguruma, there's no need for you or Lieutenant Kuna to do anything, sir. Let us handle-"

"You be quiet too, dammit! I'm not gonna stand to the side while you men do all the work! I have two perfectly good arms that aren't broken, and two legs that ain't either! I can work, dammit! And so can she!" Captain Muguruma yelled with a dark smile that sent shivers down everyone's spines.

"But Ken~sei!" Lieutenant Kuna whined as a flood of fake tears rolled down from her eyes.

"Quiet, Mashiro! Now get to work. The Senkaimon is starting to appear." Captain Muguruma barked, his voice growing sterner as a misty fog started to appear from nowhere, "And remember men, everyone of you report to Third Seat Kurotsuchi of the Twelfth Division as soon as you're done with your work. No screw-ups!"

"Yes sir!" the men chorused, saluting their Captain as Toshiro and Shuhei watched them in awe.

"_This man… His spiritual pressure is almost unbearable… And yet, all he's doing is standing there…_" Toshiro thought as sweat dripped from his brow while he watched a Senkaimon appear.

"Kensei! How many Hell Butterflies do we need?" Mashiro whined as a vein in Kensei's forehead pulsed noticeably.

"I don't know! You were supposed to keeping track! Just take 13 of 'em. That should be more than enough." Kensei said as Mashiro nodded, 13 butterflies appearing from nowhere as everyone began to file into the Senkaimon.

"Come on, now's our chance, Toshiro." Shuhei said as he began to run toward the gate.

"Wait, Shuhei!" Toshiro said, running after his friend to stop him, "It's too dangerous! What if they're going to fight Hollows? We could get in their way and get killed!"

But Shuhei ignored him as he jumped through the Senkaimon. Toshiro jumped, trying to catch his friend's leg, but as soon as his body passed the gate, he felt like he had fallen into a dreamless sleep… but, he was flapping his wings, and flying through darkness… just flying along the path…

* * *

><p>"Give that back, you bog witch!" Byakuya said, appearing above Soi Fon as the girl disappeared only to reappear behind him.<p>

"No chance, you little brat!" Soi Fon said as she kicked off Byakuya's back and flipped through the air, landing in a crouch on the ground while Byakuya fell flat on his face.

"Harry, help me out here!" Byakuya yelled as he got up.

"Huh?" Harry said, looking up from the Soul Reaper badge he was examining. He might not have known a lot about spiritual energy, but was this thing taking and _controlling_ his energy?

"I said help me, dammit!" Byakuya yelled as he snatched Harry's badge from him, "And stop staring at this thing! We're supposed to be having fun!"

"How are we having fun, exactly?" Harry asked as Soi Fon walked up to them. Harry quickly took the small silver tablet from petite young Soul Reaper, examining it for himself, "This looks like medicine. How is this gonna help us have fun?"

"Watch what you do with that! It's Hollow Bait. Just that small thing could attract hundreds of Hollows!" Soi Fon yelled as she tried to take it back, but Harry managed to keep it out of her reach.

"I don't see what the big deal is. I mean, you guys are supposed to slay Hollows to cleanse them, right? That means you're supposed to kill as many as you can so they can move on and be cleansed of their sins and stuff, right?" Harry asked as Soi Fon started flailing her arms about to reach.

"Yeah, that's all true, but to be honest, I didn't want to deal with a hundred Hollows, so I took one of the more diluted baits. My Grandfather labels his possessions very well, so I took one that would only attract maybe twenty to fifty Hollows at the most." Byakuya said, clearly proud and impressed with himself.

"It doesn't matter! Attracting Hollows is bad no matter what the number of them are! Especially with us trying to maintain this barrier! More Hollows means tougher barrier control. What if the Hollows all start attacking the barrier? They could probably break through! So give me that bait!" Soi Fon yelled as she struggled against Harry, pushing him back as he tried to stop her flailing.

"Soi Fon… stop… urg… You're gonna make me-" but it was too late, he had tripped over an overgrown root, and they had both fallen while he let go of the Hollow Bait, "… drop it…"

It was like slow motion. They all watched as the small, round, silver tablet which was roughly the size of a Galleon fall the short distance back to the ground. And as soon as it hit the ground, it shattered like glass on concrete. Soi Fon's expression of horror worried Harry more than a bit as he waited for Dementors or some creature of equal darkness to suddenly swarm them and kill them all.

… but there was nothing. Nothing came, as time seemed to go back to normal. Not a creature of the forest they were just outside of in stirred. Nothing happened.

"It must have been a fake." Byakuya said with a shrug as Harry got up, pulling Soi Fon to her feet.

Then she smacked him… and then Byakuya…

"You idiot! What if that had been real! And you Harry! You should have given me the thing when I said so! And you Byakuya! What will you do when your Grandfather realizes that it's missing! Why are all men such idiots! This is why I'm so glad I have Yoruichi-sama! Baka! Baka! Baka! Baka!" Soi Fon ranted as Harry and Byakuya merely watched her.

"What is she yelling at us?" Harry whispered to Byakuya, who gave Soi Fon a deadpan look.

"She's calling us idiots…" Byakuya replied.

But Soi Fon's ranting soon came to an abrupt end as the sky darkened and a sudden fog began to roll in from nowhere. Harry tensed as he snatched his badge away from Byakuya and took out his wand. Byakuya raised his wooden sword, while Soi Fon placed her hand on her sword's hilt. They all waited, and then, a wooden Japanese doorway appeared from nowhere. Two woodened doors slid open while the inner two remained close. Harry waited with baited as the two inner doors slowly opened, even more fog pouring from them as butterflies came fluttering out.

Harry nearly gave a sigh of relief until his eyes widened. It wasn't because the butterflies had somehow transformed into people, or the fact that the people were there at all. It was because of the two people standing in front of the others.

The man with the sliver-grey hair and the stern look on his face, and the girl with the wavy green and ditzy expression.

"Another Captain here?" Harry couldn't help but utter as the guy looked to him.

"Hey, what the hell-"

The stern-faced man didn't get to finish whatever he was about to yell at them, as the area suddenly didn't only seem darker, but felt it as well. The sky turned a near pitch black and Harry shudder beside himself at cold and evil feeling in the air. An ear piercing scream went out from all directions, like the cry of a dying beast as Byakuya and Soi Fon's eyes widened.

"It… w-wasn't a fake…" Byakuya uttered in horror as Soi Fon struggled to regain her composure.

"No… It just needed more spiritual pressure around to further draw them in… Dammit…" Soi Fon muttered as she drew her blade.

"Sir-" on of the men said as the stern man with the Captain's coat looked at him in a panic.

"Don't stay here, fool! Get through the barrier! Quickly!" the man yelled as the other nodded shakily and ran for it. The ditzy looking girl seemed completely confused by what was happening, and Harry couldn't blame her. He was barely following it himself.

"Kensei, what's going on?" the girl asked as the man drew his sword.

"Dammit, Mashiro. There's a Hollow attack. Prepare for battle." the man, named Kensei said as the girl childishly saluted him.

"Aye, aye, Captain Kensei Muguruma!" the girl, Mashiro said as she reached into her shirt and began to (as far as Harry could tell) fondle herself while her sword remained untouched at her left hip. Captain Muguruma (if Harry was thinking that right) looked back at the girl and gave a shocked gasp, and blushed before he bopped her over the head.

"Dammit, Mashiro! What the hell are you doing?" Muguruma asked as Mashiro blinked in confusion.

"I'm preparing for battle, just like you said. Lisa said this is the proper way to do it, and Captain Kyoraku agreed." Mashiro said innocently as Harry nearly fell out while Muguruma muttered curses under his breath.

"I'm gonna kill the Eighth Division when this is all over with…" Muguruma muttered as Harry felt the ground under his feet begin to shake.

"Move!" Soi on yelled as they all jumped away.

Harry's eye widened as he gaze down at the creature which emerged from the ground that they had been standing upon. The white skull-faced mask, the yellow eyes, the skin as dark as the creature's heart, and it's sheer size. Harry shook his head, not allowing fear to grip him. These things might have been giant beasts, but the presence of the Dementors gripped Harry's heart far worst. Harry's eye went wide once again as he saw more of the creatures emerge from portals of darkness all around them while the Japanese gateway was still open some ways away.

"Now this is what I'm talking about." Byakuya said with a toothy grin as he slashed his wooden sword through the air, Harry watching as it turned steel, "Ho, ho!" Byakuya teased, jumping out of the way yet again as another enraged Hollow swiped at him, "You won't be able to get me that easily."

Harry watched in stunned silence as Byakuya and the other leapt into action. He watched as Soi Fon, spinning in midair, lashed out with her leg, landing a decisive blow to the side of one of the smaller Hollows' mask. The Hollow roared, stumbling back as a piece of its mask flaked off while Soi Fon landed to the ground with a grin. It was only then that Harry realized she was also sheathing her sword as the Hollow's mask was sliced in two as the beast disintegrated.

Harry shook his head, getting into the fray as he pointed his wand at the nearest Hollow. What was that spell from his dream? It looked powerful then.

"_**Stupefy**_!" Harry cried, a red streak shooting from the tip of his wand and stunning the Hollow while Kensei bisected it a second later.

"Ah… this is almost too easy." Byakuya said, jumping from Hollow to Hollow as he gave them all shallow cut, the behemoths too large to catch the noble boy, "I have more fun chasing that damn Cat Demon around than this!"

"_**Hado #31: Shakkaho**_!" a voice sounded as Harry turned behind him to see a Hollow vanishing with an enormous smoking hole in it's chest. Mashiro sent him an innocent smile, her open palm still smoking from the use of her spell.

* * *

><p>Harry glanced down at the badge he had been given by Jushiro. He was sure there was more to it than Jushiro had let on, but he didn't care as he pushed it into his chest and felt as though he had lost a ton of clothing layers or had just gotten out of a pool after a long swim.<p>

He stood before the large amount of Hollows, dressed in what he had been told was the traditional garb for a Soul Reaper. Though he realized that his sleeves and pants' legs weren't nearly as free flowing and loose as those of the others. It fact, the "uniform" felt almost like his normal school robes. However, Harry didn't care about that as he drew his sword.

His sword took on a somewhat different look than before, like the fact it was no longer a standard katana, but a rapier. As gazed down at it, even though he had never unsheathed the blade even once seen acquiring his newfound powers, he realized that the rapier was unusual. It's blade was only on one side, and it was slightly curved for an even longer reach, unlike normal ones. He also realized that the guard of the sword didn't changed, but looked stranger on the rapier than it did on the katana.

Suddenly, Harry felt a heat on his face as he jumped while Soi Fon rescued his Human body from being turned into a pile of smothering ash. Harry gazed upward to the Hollow which had it's mouth agape. It must have fired some kind of blast the way smoke was wafting lightly off it's masked teeth.

"**Ke, ke, ke**!" The Hollow snickered as Harry was surprised it had the ability of speech and the intelligence to apply it, "**I'll eat you, I'll eat you, Soul Reaper**!"

"Oh yeah?" Byakuya asked with narrowed before Harry could do anything. Byakuya lunged at the beast as Harry could tell Byakuya was intent on finishing it off himself. Even though Harry wasn't much of a fighter, even he could tell that if Byakuya calmed down and controlled his impulses, the boy would be a much better fighter than he was now.

"Harry, don't just stand there!" Byakuya yelled as he struggled against the Hollow's large fist, having blocked the punch with his blade, "How dare you just stand there while this Hollow surprise attacked you? Where is your pride now, because I don't see it?"

Harry narrowed his eyes at Byakuya, not sure why he felt so offended and outraged at Byakuya's insulting his will to protect his friends which were his pride, but then, as he charged straight at the Hollow, he realized that Byakuya was right. Where was his pride? His will to protect his friends? He had just been standing there, watching as the chaos unfolded in front of him. Was that pride? No, he didn't think so. He'd show Byakuya. He still had his will to protect. He still had his pride!

He spun as he jumped at the Hollow that was fairing against Byakuya, twisting to the side just as a sharp bone hook flew by him and nearly sliced the Hollow in half. Harry's mouth dropped open as his eyes followed the source of the skewer to yet another Hollow, but this different as it had nasty looking bone hooks draped over it's shoulders.

"**You won't get him, Flamious H**." The new Hollow jeered, "**I will! I haven't smelt something as good as this Soul Reaper in a while, and I want it **_**now**_!"

Two…? Harry wasn't sure that he could fight two Hollows, though Byakuya reminded them all of his presence when his spiritual pressure spiked up suddenly and he pushed the other Hollow back.

Harry saw Byakuya's familiar confident grin stretch across his face like that of a feral beast ready to kill it's prey. Suddenly, Harry felt sorry for the Hollows. That was… until he saw Byakuya's grin slowly began to fade as he and Harry began to lose count of the Hollows that had gathered just outside of the barrier.

"Everyone back off!" Muguruma yelled as he held his sword tightly, "_**Blow it Away**_…"

Harry felt as though the winds around him were bending to Captain Muguruma's will while the man's spiritual pressure nearly doubled, crushing to off the Hollows that had been to close to him. The winds forming around the man were visible as they turned a pale blue, slicing through even more Hollows that thought it was prudent to attack Captain Muguruma while he was gathering his power. Then, the man's long katana slowly transformed before Harry's eyes into a hunting knife with air swirling about it dangerously.

"**Tachikaze**!" Captain Muguruma shouted as with one mighty slash from that small hunting knife, at least ten of the Hollows that had been to the left of them all were sliced into to many pieces for Harry to even think about.

However, Harry's own Hollow opponent didn't give him time to dwell on it. Immediately, after the display of power from the Captain and the shock of that power had worn off, the Hollow streaked toward Harry, setting a blaze of lightning before itself and toward him. Harry barely dodged the lightning, and quickly drew his blade to block the claws of the Hollow before him as it looked on at Harry in bloodlust. Harry pushed the Hollow back off his blade and sheathed it before he held up his hand. If he remembered right it was-

"_**Hado #31: Shakkaho**_!" Harry yelled as a red ball of energy began to form in front of him. As soon as he felt it big enough, he thrust it forward and watched as it impacted the Hollow.

"_Impossible! He's never used Kido before! He's only just seen that spell… Or had he really been paying attention when he sat and watched my men practice? And the power behind that one… What is he_?" Soi Fon thought as she slashed through a flying Hollow, gazing down at Harry for a second before she went off to fight more.

"_He used Kido! But how! He's never even tried it before, and yet… he's able to use Level 33 spells effectively. Even that would take months for normal Soul Reapers, and he did it with such power_." Byakuya thought as he glanced Harry's way after hearing the shouted Kido.

Kensei stared at Harry hard for a second before he fired off another pressurized wind slash at a group of Hollows trying to attack the barrier.

Harry grit his teeth as he panted from the energy he had used. The Hollow was destroyed, most of it's body blown away, but he never imagined Kido to take so much out of him. Normal spells from Hogwarts had never been so draining, all except for the Patronus, which had been even more tiring than his first Kido spell.

Harry took a deep breath as he formed the hand gesture for another Kido he remembered. He didn't want to try fighting Hollow with only three separate experience wielding a sword. So, he'd play to his strengths. He had magic, and he was good at it. So, with another deep breath, Harry focused on a group of Hollows that looked a little too near the barrier.

"_**Hado #4: Byakurai**_!" Harry called out as he shot lightning from his index and middle fingers. His aim was off, as the lightning arced, but it still managed to catch most of the Hollows he had been aiming for and even some that he hadn't.

"_His level of power with Kido is amazing to say he only unlocked his Soul Reaper powers a short time ago. Though that spell is supposed to be a straight and narrow shot, so he still needs some practice_." Soi Fon thought, unknowingly thinking the same as Byakuya.

"His ability with Kido is most likely given to his two years of practicing magic. He's never done it without a wand, but since he knows how to channel the power, he's getting it down pact with a trial-and-error run." Byakuya thought as he sliced through the Hollow he was battling, "That means I need to kick things up a notch." Byakuya thought with a grin as he held his sword at the parallel to his face.

"_**Scatter**_…" Byakuya said after a calming breath. He had only been able to do this once before, and he hoped it'd work again. He needed to be calm. He needed to be cool and collected...

Soi Fon turned, much like Harry and Kensei, with wide eyes to see Byakuya's sword glow a light pink color as it slowly began to disintegrate into… flower petals…?

"**Senbonzakura**!"

Harry watched in amazement as the Hollows around Byakuya exploded in a shower of light and flower petals. However, Harry noticed something behind Byakuya; a large looming figure that was about to-

"Byakuya look-" Harry didn't get to finish as Byakuya disappeared, the Hollow that had been behind the noble exploding into a shower of blood before it faded.

Byakuya instantly reappeared in front of Harry, an annoyed expression on his face.

"Please, Harry. My sensing abilities aren't nearly as pathetic as yours. Nor is my common sense, for that matter. I suppose I'll have to take care of your mess now to with my Shikai as always…"

"So that's your Shikai?" Harry asked, remembering his talk with Sasakibe about Shikai and Bankai as Byakuya nodded. Harry glanced down to see that the hilt of Byakuya's sword was still clutched in the noble's hand.

"Yeah, it's _Senbonzakura_, or in English it means _Thousand Cherry Blossoms_. It turns into a thousand slender and tiny blade fragments, and when they reflect light, they appear to be falling cherry blossom petals." Byakuya said with a smirk as Harry gave him a deadpan look.

"Seems kinda girly to me…" Harry said as Byakuya turned on him, a look of anger on his face.

"It is not _girly_, dammit! It is _beautiful_ and _artistic_! It's of noble reason you couldn't possibly understand, damn commoner." Byakuya said as he turned his head.

"… Still girly…" Harry muttered as a vein appeared over Byakuya's brow.

"Why you-"

"Enough!" Soi Fon yelled as she jumped between them, "If you have time to argue, then fight instead!"

Then, Harry sighed as Byakuya, with an infuriating and challenging smirk, turned away, calling his Zanpakuto to him. In an instant, the young noble was gone, and Hollows came raining down like snowflakes.

"I'm off then." Soi Fon said as Harry caught a glimpse of something shimmering gold on Soi Fon's hand. It was like a piece of deadly jewelry as it gleamed in the little light of the area. The slim gauntlet that was gold and black as Harry caught sight of the stinger-like blade on Soi Fon's middle finger. He knew he had heard her mutter something earlier and felt her pressure increase, but for her and Byakuya to have Shikai.

He didn't know why, but he had never thought them that powerful. Harry sighed as he saw that the number of Hollows were staring to decrease rapidly as soon as Soi Fon had flash-stepped away and rejoined the fray.

"I suppose I shouldn't be- Huh?" Harry said as he saw something moving near his spot. He turned his gaze, looking over his shoulder to see that the Japanese doors were finally closing and that two children were sneaking toward the bushes.

Harry didn't really think much of it, at least not until a Hollow appeared near the children. He didn't have much time as he pointed his hand at the Hollow and called out the first spell he thought of.

"_**Stupefy**_!" Harry yelled, a red streak flying from his hand and hitting the Hollow in the chest, stunning it. Then, with pure energy, Harry blasted it's head off while the two children dived behind the cover of the bushes.

"It's time we ended this." Harry said, adjusting his glasses as he jumped into the fray. He wouldn't stand by and do nothing while there were kids around to protect.

* * *

><p>It was over in an instant… Or at least, that was how it felt to Byakuya as he crossed his arms and sat on the ground while the others were still fighting the few remaining Hollows. Hollows weren't so tough to beat when they weren't focused on just you, especially not for him; an heir who had trained since the time of his tenth birthday for the duties of a Soul Reaper. Harry, Soi Fon, and Captain Muguruma were all a huge help, though Byakuya would never admit it.<p>

It made him a bit sad though, to think that Harry had outright refused to release his Shikai, even though he claimed to have one when they had been back-to-back.

Still, he supposed Harry didn't know he was listening when the emerald-eyed boy with glasses had been muttering about his Zanpakuto, saying things like "wasn't so bad, but still couldn't be trusted". Byakuya didn't bother to ask, knowing that most people didn't take to their Zanpakuto the first time they met, and even afterward. Hell, his own Zanpakuto was so calm and collected, yet still acted odd with its emotional outbursts and impatient nature.

Byakuya had no clue where his Zanpakuto got it's attitude from…

"Look, _Sui-Feng_, it's Byakuya. And he's so _quiet_ for a change." Harry said as he dropped down by Byakuya.

"Yeah he is, Harry. And what is the brat doing? Is he… Oh my, is little Byakuya _thinking_? Well that sure is a new one. I guess we can show brats new tricks." Soi Fon said with a grin as Byakuya glanced up at them.

"Shut up…" Byakuya grumbled as the two sat on the ground by him while Captain Muguruma went off to check the perimeter, "I was just wondering where that Lieutenant disappeared to."

"Hmm, you're right." Soi Fon muttered with a frown, brushing her hand at the charred grass around them, "It's odd that a Lieutenant would suddenly disappear when it's their duty to defend their Captain."

"Oh, that reminds me. I saw these two-"

Harry was getting a little tired of being interrupted by things suddenly happening. However, they were all shocked as a large spiritual pressure descended down upon them. Soi Fon was the first to recover as her head shot up and her eyes widened. Harry, wondering what in the world could have caused such a reaction, look up too with Byakuya only to see a rip in the sky like it had been torn by a God. And stepping out of that rip was a large Hollow, large than even the castle looming in the distance. It was a giant at hieghts that Harry could have never thought possible.

"There!" Byakuya said, pointing up at the Hollow shakily, "It's… It's…"

"A Menos Grande...!" Soi Fon uttered breathlessly as Harry felt his insides lurch at her hopelessly shocked tone.

Harry felt complete hopelessness grip him as the giant opened its mouth, and large ball of red energy began to gather. Harry didn't even need to be told what a blast of that much power could and would do as it was pointed directly at them. Harry was too shocked too move, and he felt that Byakuya and Soi Fon had likewise frozen up beside him. Inside his chest, Harry could hear his heart pounded wildly.

Would this be it? Would he and they die just outside of protection? Would he die just when he had gained the power to protect his friends? They couldn't die! Not here! Not now!

"_**Bakudo #81: Danku**_!" a voice yelled above them as the Hollow fired it's blast. Harry clenched his eyes shut as the world around him was engulfed in a sea of white light.

Having not felt any pain or discomfort for a few moments, Harry peaked open an eye only to see Captain Muguruma standing in front of them, his face still highly stern as his whit Captain's coat billowed gently behind him.

"Sorry for leaving you kids. When the Hollows stopped coming like they had, I thought we were outta dodge, but I guess this was the reason why… a Menos Grande, and a Gillian-class one at that being here firing off a Cero first thing. It answers so many questions, but raises just as many." Captain Muguruma said gruffly as the clear shield in front of him dropped. Harry looked around, seeing that the shield must have deflected the blast to either side of it as a trench was made from where the flat barrier had been all the way into the forest and on the other side up to the barrier protecting the school.

"Where did you… How did you…?" Byakuya was sputtering out with his jaw dropped. Harry didn't know why, but the sight made him feel a bit more light-hearted about having nearly been killed again for the… well, Harry lost count of how many times he had come close to dying.

"Get back." Captain Muguruma said as Harry and the others turned back to him. The man hadn't even glanced back once to them as he kept his eye on the Menos, "You kids don't stand a snowball's chance in Hell against this thing. This is a Gillian-class Menos Grande." Muguruma said as he glanced back at Harry, "And you don't even want to release your Zanpakuto."

Harry felt a bit ashamed that the man had heard him from earlier. That was right… He didn't want to use his sadistic Zanpakuto… and it was by choice. Harry had once listened to Mayuri's tales of having studied a Menos. How Mayuri had described the terrifying power of the Menos, and he didn't even want to use his Shikai to defend himself. While he could use spells; both wizarding and Soul Reaper, he wasn't sure how good they'd be on something of that size. His swordsmanship, while not having ever practiced it, and only having used his sword a few times… Well, his skills with a sword just plain sucked. And his Flash-step could only do so much, and that had been against the much smaller Hollows compared to the true behemoth before them.

Harry despaired, because truly, what could he do? Yet and still… still… He wanted to help… He wanted to fight, to show them he had what it took to protect his friends. To protect Ron and Hermione, Luna and Colin, Draco and Soi Fon, and even Byakuya. He wanted to protect everyone!

"_And you can_…" a voice whisper in Harry's mind. Harry went stiff at the voice he had grown familiar with just a short time ago… So long had he heard that voice in such a short time…

"_Just use my power… Your power… Our power, Harry_…" the voice whispered, so alluring was it that Harry almost gave in.

"_Just give in too it, Harry. I am your strength… I am your power. You broke away from me. You proved who was dominant. I am your's to command now_." the voice whispered as Harry took a deep breath.

"I'm _so_ sorry everyone." Harry said as the others turned to him. He was slowly drawing his sword from its scabbard, a look of utter sorrow on his face, "P-Please forgive me, for I am… about to sin."

"_**C-Carry the Burden**_… **Regis Mundi**…" Harry said, his voice full of regret as he continued to slowly unsheathe his Zanpakuto.

"Harry…?" Soi Fon breathed as she felt Harry's spiritual rise and continue to rise without stop.

"What's going on…?" Byakuya questioned as Harry's body began to glow a brightly, but with a dark color… almost an anti-light…

Kensei finally turned around completely, only for his eyes to widened as the glow on Harry began to blind...

"What _are_ you…?"

* * *

><p>Kensei blinked his eyes many times to free them of the glaring light that had obscured his vision. How much time had passed since the light had blinded even his sight. One minute… No, more time than that. It had to have been at least three…<p>

Kensei had no clue what had happened when the light got the better of him, but as his vision cleared, he saw Harry sheathing his sword while the Menos Grande was vanishing into nothingness. During the time he couldn't see, he had heard the screams, the shouted words in some language he didn't know, and felt the unbelievable amounts of spiritual pressure the emerald-eyed kid had released while he must have been doing battle with the Gillian-class Hollow.

"_Just what _is_ that kid? The amount of power he released… That was way too much for some simple Shikai… Were the reports we read eleven years ago true? Did he really gain power from that Voldemort character when a piece of the man's soul latch onto to his own? No, even then it wouldn't be _this_ much. There's more to it then that, so _what_ is it_?" Kensei thought as he stared at Harry's back with wide eyes.

"_I don't get it. How is he so powerful, even though we suspected it? He shouldn't have _that_ much power so soon_. " Soi Fon thought as she glanced toward Byakuya, who seemed stuck in a mix of awe, fear, respect, jealousy, admiration, and understanding.

"_How…? How is it _possible_…? How did he release such spiritual pressure? He became a Soul Reaper through the unlocking of his inner most power. But, to have power to _this_ extent? How? Why? Why him? He's not a noble_." Byakuya thought as his hands clenched into fists as he narrowed his eyes into a glare at Harry's back, "_He wasn't even _born_ a Soul Reaper. So why him? Why is _he_ so powerful, so _soon_? How long will it be before he achieves _Bankai_? How is it that he's outclassed me, even _before_ the release of his full power. I am I weak…? _No_! I am _not_ weak! I just… I just need to focus. I still have my pride_!" Byakuya thought as he calmed himself with a deep breath and smiled at Harry, because he understood, "_But this _power_… This great power; blessed and bequeathed to you… It's to protect your pride, isn't it, Harry Potter? Ha, ha… It must have been a long time in waiting then. Fine then Harry Potter, I accept your silent challenge. I will achieve power, and I _will_ protect my pride as you do yours_."

Harry panted wildly as he fully sheathed his rapier Zanpakuto with an audible click. He felt so drained while they sky lightened and the evening sun shone as the dark clouds broke apart. It was over, and it had only taken…

Oh crap…

"Dammit to bloody hell! I'm late!" Harry cried out as he gripped at his own hair, "See you later!" Harry said, and without another word, he vanished from all their sights.

"Where did he go?" Soi Fon asked, blinking wildly as Byakuya pointed to where they could barely see Harry, back in his body, tearing back down the path toward Hogsmeade with two squirming bundles under both his arms.

* * *

><p>Back into Honeydukes, back down the cellar steps, across the stone floor, through the trapdoor. Harry barely had enough time between his flash-steps to pull off the cloak Soi Fon had put over his body when she must have hidden it. He quickly tucked it away as he started another flash-step, running with all his might along the passage… Draco would get back first… how long would it take him to find Snape, though?<p>

Panting, and with a sharp pain in his side, Harry didn't slow down until he reached the stone slide. He would have to leave the cloak where it was, it was too much of a giveaway in case Draco had tipped off a teacher. He quickly hid the cloak in a shadowy corner, then started to climb, fast as he could, up the chute. He reached the inside of the witch's hump, tapped it with his wand, stuck his head through, and hoisted himself out; the hump closed. Quickly, Harry flashed to a safe spot where he dropped his two bundles, and just as he was flashing pass the statue, he found his arm caught while his eyes widened at being so suddenly stopped at break-neck speeds. That feeling of diving high through water was back as Harry broke down into coughs while struggling to look up at the person who caught him.

It was Snape. He must have been moving fast as well as his black robes were still swishing and falling around him even though he was still.

"So…" Snape started impassively, like he hadn't just caught Harry from moving faster than the speed of sound intentionally. Harry looked up from his fit to see that there was a look of suppressed triumph on Snape's face, like he had accomplished the impossible. Harry tried to look innocent, all too aware of his sweaty face and his reddened dirty hands, which he quickly hid in his pockets.

"Hmph… Come with me, Potter." Snape said as he simply turned on heel and started down the hall.

Harry followed Snape downstairs, trying to wipe his hands clean on the inside of his robes without Snape noticing. They walked down the stairs to the dungeons and then into Snape's office.

Harry had been in here only once before, and he had been in very serious trouble then too. Snape had acquired a few more slimy horrible things in jars since last time, all standing on shelves behind his desk, glinting in the firelight and adding to the threatening atmosphere.

"Have a seat, Potter." Snape said, and Harry sat.

Snape, however, remained standing.

"Draco has just been to see me with a strange story, Potter." Snape said as Harry took a deep breath before he sat comfortably.

"And that is?" Harry asked as Snape gazed down at him.

"Draco tells me that _he_ was up by the Shrieking Shack when _he_ ran into Weasley; apparently alone."

"Okay…" Harry said as Snape looked to be grinding his teeth.

"Draco states that _he_ was standing there, talking to Weasley… right before _he_ was fondled by an invisible ghost of some sort. How do you think that could have happened?"

Harry tried to look mildly surprised, but Snape scoffed at him.

"I don't know… Hmm, maybe we have a new ghost about." Harry said coolly with a shrug as Snape's eyes were boring into his own.

Harry felt as though the world around him had disappeared and all that was left of it was the weight on his shoulders. It was exactly like trying to stare down a Hippogriff… or a blackhole. Harry tried hard not to blink, but he started raising his spiritual pressure in an effort to get the feeling off of him. Snape raised a brow, and just like that, the heavy feeling was gone.

"Draco, after being handled by this an extraordinary apparition was furious, _she_ was very furious indeed, Potter." Snape said, with a ghost of a smirk as Harry suddenly paled slightly and gulped, "Can you imagine what the fury of a Veela can do, Potter?"

"No, sir…" Harry said, now trying to sound innocently curious and yet feeling very small.

"Try having one's insides ripped out, stuffed in a bowl, and fed to the dog. Or perhaps she was simply embarrassed, so the individual will be tortured slowly… and painfully."

There was a long silence after Snape words, which the man seemed to take great pleasure in saying.

"Umm… Maybe Draco better go to Madam Pomfrey. You know, for some thing to help calm her down, or take some of that potion so he's right again." Harry said, "If Draco thinks things like ghost—"

"Draco's friends also say that they saw and heard you with Mr. Weasley, Potter. Now what would you be doing around Hogsmeade with Mr. Weasley, Potter?" Snape said softly, "You know you are not allowed in Hogsmeade without permission, don't you, Potter? No matter how quickly you're able to get there and back."

"I know that." Harry said, striving to keep his face free of guilt or fear. He had no clue what Snape was trying, but it seemed like the guy knew about everything, including his powers, "It sounds like Draco having hallucinations. You know, I hear some bad mushrooms can do that—"

"Draco is not having hallucinations." Snape snarled, the feeling of weight back in the air as the man bent down, a hand on each arm of Harry's chair, so that their faces were only foot apart, "If they said they saw and heard you, then you were there."

"I've been up in Gryffindor Tower." Harry said, trying to keep his composure while his and Snape's spiritual pressures did battle for dominance of the room, "Just like you suggested-"

"Can anyone confirm that?" Snape asked in a hiss as he spiked his energy even higher. Harry felt like the world was spinning as he tried to hold Snape's overbearing gaze.

Harry couldn't open his mouth, as much as he tried to while Snape's thin mouth curled into an unmistakable smile.

"So…" Snape said, straightening up again, "Everyone from the Minister of Magic downward has been trying to keep famous Harry Potter safe from Sirius Black. But famous Harry Potter is a law unto himself. Let the ordinary people worry about his safety! Famous Harry Potter goes where he wants to, with no thought for the consequences."

"I do not!" Harry yelled, his spiritual pressure overshadowing Snape's as the man still looked on him calmly.

"How extraordinarily like your father you are, Potter." Snape said suddenly, his eyes glinting, "He too was exceedingly arrogant, but not nearly as powerful. A small amount of talent on the Quidditch field made him think he was a cut above the rest of us too. Strutting around the place with his friends and admirers… The resemblance between you is uncanny."

Harry was about to yell, to defend his father, but then he realized something; he didn't know his father. True he found out that he looked like his father, played Quidditch like his dad did, but what else did he really know about his father; his mother either for that matter.

"I don't know much about my parents…" Harry said quietly, "But I know that I don't strut. Whether my father did or not, has no place in this matter."

"It does, Potter. I say it because, your father didn't set much store by rules either; further drawing the parellels between the two of you." Snape said sharply, his face full of malice, "Rules are to be upheld. Laws are to be followed. Those of good standing should follow the law and rules as an example to others. But no. Not you, and not your father, who thought rules and laws were for lesser mortals, not Quidditch Cup-winners. His head was so swollen-"

"SHUT UP!" Harry shouted, suddenly on his feet as rage like he had not felt since his last night in Privet Drive was coursing through him. He didn't care that Snape's face had gone rigid, the black eyes flashing dangerously. He didn't care if his and the man's spiritual energies and pressures were causing things in the small room to explode, or crack, or whatever.

"What did you say to me, Potter?" Snape said, the two clashing energies in the room enough to alert the entire castle and Hogsmeade.

"I told you to shut up about my dad!" Harry yelled, not caring for thought or tact anymore as this man stood there and insulted his father relentlessly. Harry might not have known his father, but he'd be damned if Snape was just gonna continuously bash his dad in front of him, "I know the truth, alright? My father saved your life! Dumbledore told me! You wouldn't even be here if it wasn't for my dad!"

Snape's sallow skin had gone the color of sour milk. His fists clenching red at his sides as blood dripped from them. His face a fury like Harry had never seen. Then came the amount of power that nearly overwhelmed his own.

"And did the Headmaster tell you the circumstances in which your father saved my life?" Snape said in little more than a whisper, his robes billowing like an overgrown bat due to the energies flying about the room, "Or did he consider the details too unpleasant for precious Golden Boy Potter's delicate ears?"

Harry bit his lip. He didn't know what had happened and didn't want to admit it, but Snape seemed to have guessed the truth. One moment of righteous fury for what? He sighed mentally as he thought better of himself while Snape stood over him.

"I would hate for you to run away with a false idea of your father, Potter." Snape said, a terrible grin twisting his face, "Have you been imagining some act of glorious heroism? Then let me correct you. Your saintly father and his friends played a highly amusing joke on me that would have resulted in my death if your father hadn't got cold feet at the last moment. There was nothing _brave_ about what he did. He was saving his own skin as much as mine. Had their joke succeeded, he would have been expelled from Hogwarts and possibly thrown in Azkaban."

Snape's teeth were bared before he inhaled deep, and went back to his impassive fury.

"Turn out your pockets, Potter!" Snape spat suddenly as Harry didn't move, a pounding in his ears and his stomach twisting.

His father… a deadly prank…? So many questions went buzzing through his mind.

"Turn out your pockets, or we go straight to the headmaster! Pull them out, Potter!" Snape said once again as with cold dread, Harry slowly pulled out the bag of Zonko's tricks and the Marauder's Map.

Snape picked up the Zonko's bag, merely giving a glance at the map while he did so.

"Ron gave them to me…" Harry said quietly, praying he'd get a chance to tip Ron off before Snape saw him, "He brought them back from Hogsmeade last time-"

"Indeed? And you've been carrying them around ever since? How very touching… and what is this?" Snape said, picked up the map. Harry tried with all his might to keep his face impassive.

"Just a spare bit of parchment…" Harry said with a small shrug while Snape turned it over, his eyes glancing between the map and Harry.

"Surely you don't need such a very old piece of parchment?" Snape said, "Why don't I just… throw this away?" Snape finished, his hand moved toward the fire.

"No! It's all I have left of-" Harry said quickly, hoping that Snape would take the bait.

"Of what?" Snape said, his long nostrils quivering, "Is this another treasured gift from Mr. Weasley? Or is it… something else? A letter, perhaps, written in invisible ink? Or… instructions to get into Hogsmeade without passing the Dementors?"

Harry blinked in confusion while Snape's black eyes gleamed.

"Let me see, let me see…" Snape muttered, taking out his wand and smoothing the map out on his desk, "_**Reveal Your Secrets**_!" Snape said, touching the wand to the parchment.

Nothing happened as Harry clenched his hands to stop them from shaking. Where were Soi Fon and Byakuya? Had they not gotten to the school yet?

"Show yourself!" Snape said, tapping the map sharply.

It stayed blank. Harry was taking deep, calming breaths.

"Professor Severus Snape, master of this school, commands you to yield the information you conceal!" Snape said, hitting the map with his wand.

And just as Harry was thinking of how ridiculous, words began appearing on the smooth surface of the map as though an invisible hand were writing upon it.

"_**Mr. Mooney presents his compliments to Professor Snape, and begs him to keep his abnormally large nose out of other people's business**_."

Snape froze as he and Harry stared at the parchment, both dumbstruck at the message. But the map didn't stop there as more writing began appearing beneath the first.

"_**Mr. Prongs agrees with Mr. Mooney and would like to add that Professor Snape is an ugly git**_."

Harry though that i would have been very funny, had the situation not been so serious. And there was still more coming…

"_**Mr. Padfoot would like to register his astonishment that an idiot like that ever became a professor**_."

Harry groaned as he closed his eyes in horror. Snape shot him a murderous look, right before he did and when he had opened them again, the map had had its last words written.

"_**Mr. Wormtail bids Professor Snape good day, and advises him to wash his hair, the slime-ball**_."

Harry only sighed as waited for the blow to fall. When it didn't, he turned to Snape who was now staring at the map impassively, though his left eye was twitching a bit.

"So…" Snape said softly, "We'll see about this…"

Snape strode across to his fire, seized a fistful of glittering powder from a jar on the fireplace, and threw it into the flames.

"Lupin!" Snape called into the fire, "I want a word!"

Utterly bewildered, Harry stared at the fire. A large shape had appeared in it, revolving very fast. Seconds later, Professor Lupin came clambering out of the fireplace, brushing ash off his shabby robes.

"_Floo powder_…" Harry thought as Lupin straightened up.

"You called, Severus?" Lupin asked mildly as Snape sneered at him.

"I certainly did." Snape said shortly, his face contorted with fury as he strode back to his desk, "I have just asked Potter to empty his pockets. He was carrying _this_."

Snape pointed at the parchment, on which the words of Messrs. Moony, Wormtail, Padfoot, and Prongs were still shining. An odd, closed expression appeared on Lupin's face.

"Well?" Snape snapped as Lupin simply continued staring at the map. Harry had the impression that Lupin was doing some very quick thinking.

"Well?" Snape said again, "This parchment is plainly full of Dark Magic. This is supposed to be your area of expertise, Lupin. Where do you imagine Potter got such a thing?"

Lupin looked up and, by the merest half-glance in Harry's direction, warned him not to interrupt. It was a look Harry had received many times from Mayuri when the latter was trying to solve wizarding problems with his Soul Reaper science.

"Full of Dark Magic?" Professor Lupin repeated mildly, tapping at his chin, "Do you really think so, Severus? It looks to me as though it is merely a piece of parchment that insults anybody who reads it. Childish, but surely not dangerous? I imagine Harry or one of his friends got it from a joke shop—"

"Indeed?" Snape said, his jaw rigid with anger, "You think a joke shop could supply him with such a thing? You don't think it more likely that he got it directly from the _manufacturers_?"

Harry didn't understand what Snape was talking about. Nor, apparently, did Lupin.

"You mean, by Mr. Wormtail or one of these people?" Lupin said gesturing toward the map before he turned to Harry, "Harry, do you know any of these men?"

"Umm… No." Harry said quickly as Snape rolled his eyes.

"You see, Severus?" Lupin said, turning back to Snape, "It looks like a Zonko product to me —"

And then, as if right on cue, Ron came bursting into the office, looking as though he were about to hurl. He was completely out of breath, and stopped just short of Snape's desk, clutching his chest for air and trying to speak.

"I… gave Harry… that stuff." Ron choked out, "Bought it… in Zonko's… age-… ages ago…"

"Well then!" Professor Lupin said, clapping his hands together and looking around cheerfully, "That seems to clear that up! Severus, I'll take this back, shall I?" Lupin said, folding the map up and tucking it inside his robes, "Harry, Ron, come with me. I need a word about my vampire essay… Excuse us, Severus-"

* * *

><p>Harry didn't dare look at Snape as they left his office, but just as he reached the door last, Snape's arm caught a hold of his. Professor Lupin and Ron looked back with wide eyes as they saw the fluttering of Snape's robes as though he had ran to the door behind them.<p>

"Not so fast. I need to have a few more words with Mr. Potter. Especially about the friends he keeps these days." Snape said, and slammed the office desk before Lupin could protest.

"Sit, Potter." Snape said as his door began to glow a soft orange in front of Harry while he stared at door in surprise.

"I said to take a seat, Potter." Snape said as the man sat behind his desk. Harry turned and walked back over to the desk, sitting in the chair as Snape leaned forward.

"I told you we'd talk later about the Soul Reapers. You do know who and what they are, yes, Potter?" Snape said, his voice impassive as Harry stared into his eyes coolly.

"Yes." Harry answered shortly, willing to be as defiant as ever on the matter of his friends.

"Then you should know what this is, correct?" Snape said as he brought out a textbook from his desk's drawer. Harry stared at it openly, not believing what was laid out in front of him on the desk.

It was a text on Kido.

"Y-Yes…" Harry replied as Snape leaned forward even further.

"You and your friends must have had quite the time. Those Hollows out there must have been either plentiful or powerful because I sensed four different spikes in spiritual pressure that could only be the results of Shikai to Bankai power. Thankfully, you and your Soul Reaper friends stopped the Hollows from destroying the barrier. I had been on my way to join in the fight under the Headmaster's orders… that was, until I sensed the fourth spike in power and the destruction of the… Gillian, if I'm not mistaken. That must have been you who destroyed it, then way you were moving through the school trying to get everything in order." Snape said, not allowing Harry one word as Harry stared up at Snape in surprise and shock.

Snape not only knew about the Soul Reapers, but had been about to join the battle? Under Professor Dumbledore's orders?

"I will say this, and I will say it only once. Be at the door of this office every night at midnight starting tonight. You can bring those two you carried into the school here as well tonight. You can even bring your little Soul Reaper friends as well, it matters not to me. Just be here." Snape said as though he hated every word that was coming from his mouth.

"O-Okay…" Harry said, his head spinning as he continued to stare.

"Oh, and one more thing, Potter." Snape said, and before Harry could ask, Snape had his index finger pointed at his face and a white light appeared at the tip of it, "**Way of Destruction #4: Pale Lightning**…"

Harry pushed himself back from the desk, knocking him and the chair he was seated in over onto the floor while the beam of whit lightning shot over his head and into the door's barrier. Harry rolled over as he stared at the door, which seemed to absorb the Kido hungrily while Snape sat behind his desk impassively.

"W-What the-"

"That was, as the Soul Reapers call it, _Hado #4: Byakurai_, and there's far more where that came from. Be here tonight at midnight. You may see yourself out now, Potter." Snape said, rising from his desk and disappearing through the door on the other side of the room, opposite the front door.

* * *

><p>Harry didn't need to be told twice as the barrier on the door dropped and he ran from the room, passing Professor Lupin and Ron on the way.<p>

Harry hadn';t stopped until he was sure that Snape had secretly allowed him out only to have a sport of chasing him to kill him. He, Ron, and Lupin walked all the way back into the Entrance Hall before speaking… Well, more of before they caught up to Harry.

Harry turned to Lupin when the man and Ron caught up to his frantic pace.

"Professor, I —"

"I don't want to hear explanations. I'm not even going to ask why you ran from Professor Snape's office." Lupin said shortly, glancing around the empty entrance hall before lowering his voice.

"I happen to know that this map was confiscated by Mr. Filch many years ago. Yes, I know it's a map." Lupin said as Harry and Ron looked both surprised and amazed, though Harry wasn't sure what more could surprise him today, "I don't want to know how it fell into your possession. I am, however, astounded that you didn't hand it in. Particularly after what happened the last time a student left information about the castle lying around. And I can't let you have it back, Harry."

Harry had expected that, and was too keen for explanations to protest.

"Why did Snape think I'd got it from the manufacturers?" Harry asked as Lupin tensed noticeably.

"Because…" Lupin hesitated, "Because these mapmakers would have wanted to lure you out of school. They'd think it extremely entertaining."

"Do you know them?" Harry asked, his eyes narrowed even though he and Ron were impressed.

"We've met." Lupin said shortly, looking at Harry more seriously than ever before.

"Don't expect me to cover up for you again, Harry. I cannot make you take Sirius Black seriously. But I would have thought that what you have heard when the Dementors draw near you would have had more of an effect on you. Your parents gave their lives to keep you alive, Harry. A poor way to repay them; gambling their sacrifice for a bag of magic tricks."

"Excuse you." Harry said, clenching his hands into fists as he tried to keep his anger in check. How dare this man, this… this… _werewolf_ tell him about how he was spending his life! How he choose to have a little freedom and fun at the expense of danger that he was constantly in year after year.

"I suggest that you not make comments like that so easily, Professor." Harry snapped out harshly as Lupin gave him a surprised look before narrowing his eyes as the weight of Harry's spiritual started to settle on them all, "Not unless you know me better, or… wish to shorten your own life."

"Is that a… threat, Harry?" Lupin asked, looking more shocked and saddened tan anything.

"Take it however you wish." Harry said coldly as Lupin looked close to either hitting Harry or crying. Harry couldn't tell which.

"I… I'll be going then…" Lupin said somberly, walking away as Harry felt his anger ebb away at the weight o his guilt.

Slowly, Harry's spiritual pressure ebbed away as well as he and Ron mounted the marble staircase in silence. As Harry passed the one-eyed witch on their way to the Gryffindor Tower, he remembered his Invisibility Cloak. It was still down there, but he didn't dare go and get it.

At least… not now…

* * *

><p>"I'm sorry, Harry. It's my fault." Ron said abruptly, "If I hadn't persuaded you to go, then none of this would have happened. Lupin was right, it was stupid, I shouldn't have-"<p>

Ron broke off; they reached the corridor where the security trolls were pacing, and Hermione was walking toward them. One look at her face convinced Harry that she had heard what had happened. His heart plummeted. Had she ran and told Professor McGonagall?

No, Hermione wouldn't have done that. She might have been tattling, but she wouldn't get him expelled… At least, Harry hoped not.

"Come to have a good gloat?" Ron said savagely as Hermione stopped in front of them, "Or have you just been to tell on us?"

"No…" Hermione said quietly and panicky. She was clutching a letter in her hands, her bottom lip trembling. Harry wondered what could have her near tears the way she was, but then his eyes widened. Hermione had been to help Hagrid ever since her and Ron started fighting, so for her to appear as she was, and with Ron still angry. That must have meant-

"I just thought you ought to know… Hagrid lost his case. Buckbeak is going to be e-executed."

And then silence dominated them for a long period.

* * *

><p>"Dammit, there you are, Mashiro. Where the hell have you been?" Kensei asked while Mashiro came running up to him while in the Mission Room.<p>

"Hey, Kensei! You'll never guess what I found." Mashiro said as Kensei gave her a look, "Well, while I was hiding in the bushes and you guys were fighting." that got her an irritated eye twitch, "I found this." Mashiro finished, holding out a badge that made Kensei's eyes widen.

"T-That's a…"

"I know. Who do you think it belongs to?" Mashiro asked as Kensei snatched the badge from her.

"That kid, Potter, that's who. But… for him to have this… That means that Ukitake… Dammit, c'mon Mashiro. We need to have a word with Ukitake." Kensei said, climbing the stairs to the second floor with Mashiro hot on his heels.


	12. To Protect One's Pride

_**Hope you enjoy.**_

**Chapter 12: To Protect One's Pride**

* * *

><p><strong>Last Time<strong>:

"_I'm sorry, Harry… It's all my fault." Ron said abruptly with his head bowed low, "If I hadn't persuaded you to go… then none of this would have happened. Lupin was right… it was stupid, I shouldn't have-"_

_Ron broke off; they reached the corridor where the security trolls were pacing, and Hermione was walking toward them. One look at her face convinced Harry that she had heard what had happened. His heart plummeted. Had she ran and told Professor McGonagall?_

_No, Hermione wouldn't have done that. She might have been tattling, but she wouldn't get him expelled…_

_At least, Harry hoped not._

"_Come to have a good gloat?" Ron said savagely as Hermione stopped in front of them, "Or have you just been to tell on us?"_

"_No…" Hermione said quietly and panicky. She was clutching a letter in her hands, her bottom lip trembling. Harry wondered what could have her near tears the way she was, but then his eyes widened. Hermione had been to help Hagrid ever since her and Ron started fighting, so for her to appear as she was, and with Ron still angry. That must have meant-_

"_I just thought you ought to know… Hagrid lost his case. Buckbeak is going to be e-executed."_

_And then silence dominated them for a long period._

* * *

><p><strong>Now<strong>:

"He sent me this…" Hermione said, holding out the letter to them as Harry took it. The parchment was damp, and enormous teardrops had smudged the ink so badly in places that it was very difficult to read.

**Dear Hermione,**

**We lost. I'm allowed to bring him back to Hogwarts. Execution date to be fixed. Beaky has enjoyed London.**

**I won't forget all the help you gave us.**

**Hagrid**

"Poor Buckbeak…" Harry thought glumly as he sulked over not having helped one of his oldest friends in the Wizarding World. He had become so caught up in the Soul Reapers and

"They can't do this…" Harry said, clutching the letter as Ron read it over his shoulder, "They can't. Buckbeak isn't dangerous."

"Malfoy's dad's frightened the Committee into it." Hermione said, wiping her eyes as she gave Harry quick glances, "You know what he's like. They're a bunch of doddery old fools, and they were scared. There'll be an appeal, though, there always is. Only I can't see any hope… Nothing will have changed."

"Yeah, it will." Ron said fiercely, "You won't have to do all the work alone this time, Hermione. I'll help."

"Oh, Ron!" Hermione sobbed as she flung her arms around Ron's neck and broke down completely. Ron, looking quite terrified, patted her very awkwardly on the top of the head before finally, Hermione drew away.

"Ron, I'm really, _really_ sorry about Scabbers…" Hermione sobbed as Ron looked still more awkward as he shifted his weight from foot to foot.

"Oh… Well… Umm… He was old anyways." Ron said, looking thoroughly relieved that she had let go of him and apologized in one go, "And he was a bit useless. You never know, Mum and Dad might get me an owl now."

* * *

><p>Harry sneaked through the hallowed halls while ghosts and trolls patrolled the corridors. Hurrying through the halls, Harry shouldered two bundles as he crept on through the twilight.<p>

"Harry, what are you doing?" Soi Fon asked as she turned back to Harry, who stopped tip-toeing along the stone wall in the shadows long enough to give her a look.

"Being sneaky." Harry said as Byakuya raised a brow a little ahead of Soi Fon.

"What for? We've already put ourselves under Soifon's stealth Kido. There's no need to creep about." Byakuya said, his brow still raised as Harry stood straight up with his arms crossed.

"I like being sneaky." Harry pouted as Soi Fon and Byakuya exchanged amused looks of annoyance.

"And what's with the bag? And why is it moving?" Soi Fon asked, her head titled curiously.

"It's a surprise." Harry said, giving his moving bag a firm elbow to stop the squirming. Byakuya and Soi Fon only exchanged another look, this time one more suspicious.

As they walked on, they slowly but surely reached the dungeons; a place in the castle with so little light, Soi Fon made them stop.

"This is ridiculous!" Soi Fon snapped as Harry, still with his large bundle, and Byakuya turned back to her.

"Oh, right. I guess you guys aren't that used to it. Here. _**Lumos**_!" Harry said, chuckling as he pulled out his wand and cast the spell. The tip of his wand glowed brightly in the darkness of the dungeons while they pressed on.

"Byakuya, what time is it?" Harry asked as he began to pick up pace.

"It's about 11: 59 at the night. Why?" Byakuya asked, him and Soi Fon never having found out where Harry was going or why.

"Run." Harry said, and took off a dead run as he nearly flash-stepped down the dank corridor.

Byakuya and Soi Fon had no problems keeping up with his speed as he came to a sudden stop in front of a door. Harry put his wand away and raised his hand to knock, but before he did-

"Enter." came a drawling voice as the door to the equally dark room opened… on it's own.

"Okay… I've read books about these kinds of situations. This is the part where we should run for our lives." Byakuya said, blinking at the darkness as Harry frowned, walking into it.

Upon reaching another door, this one giving off a faint glow of a sky blue, Soi Fon narrowed her eyes as she, behind Harry and beside Byakuya, could sense an energy coming from behind it.

"Enter." the voice said impassively once more as the second door opened. A bright flash of light caught them all off guard as they felt a pull at their navels, and the air coming from their lungs. Harry wasn't sure when the room around them had stopped spinning, but when it did, he was glad none the less.

Looking around, Byakuya and Soi Fon took in the sight before them with wide eyes and gaping mouths.

"Is this… a training grounds?" Byakuya asked, looking about at the extremely large room with the ceiling painted as if it were the sky and the rocky terrain that made up the ground.

"It must be, but… I've never seen or heard of a room like this. It's amazing." Soi Fom commented as she and Byakuya walked further into the room while Harry sat down his bundle.

"Okay, I think we're safe in here. So now, you guys can come out and-" Harry didn't get to finish whatever he was going to say as a small fist interrupted him by imploding his face comically.

A small boy with white hair and turquoise eyes jumped out of the bag. He looked to be around six years-old and wore a shabby blue kimono. His fist clenched as he pulled it away from Harry's face. The young boy's eye twitched in annoyance as he glared icy daggers at Harry, who was rolling on the ground and clutching his abused face.

"Ow! That really hurt!" Harry said, still rolling about on the ground.

Another boy came out of the bag. This one with black hair and dark grey eyes. He seemed almost as old as Harry and Byakuya, but still retained an air of child-like exuberance. He wore a newer looking dark grey kimono compared to his companion's.

"You idiot! You kidnapper! You kept us in a bag for four hours! We could have died!" Toshiro yelled as he and his companion got out of the bag.

"There were air-holes!" Harry yelled in his own defense, "I think my nose is bleeding!"

"Toshiro, you didn't have to hit him." Shuhei commented casually as he stepped out of the bag, "I mean, there were air-holes like he said."

"Shut up, Hisagi!" Toshiro snapped as Shuhei shrugged indifferently while Toshiro pointed at Harry, "Who gave him the right to just kidnap us anyway?"

"Stop rolling around you idiot! You're not even hurt!" Soi Fon snapped as she turned back to see Harry.

"Fine…" Harry said, getting up from the ground and dusting himself off. He turned to the two child he had in the bag with a smile and outstretched his hand.

"Hi, I'm Harry Potter. And you are?" Harry said politely as Shuhei shook his hand and Toshiro glared frostily at the appendage.

"Kidnapped by you, and not willingly." Toshiro growled as Shuhei elbowed him.

"Being difficult with the kidnapper in a strange place means he may not feed us or that anyone here will help us." Shuhei muttered to Toshiro who scoffed and turned the other way with his arms crossed.

"He better feed us…" Toshiro muttered under his breath.

"I'm Shuhei Hisagi, and this grumpy ice sickle is-"

"Not giving up any information to the kidnapper." Toshiro grumbled as he turned back to them.

"Come on, your name is important. It helps build bridges of friendship, or something that Hermione was saying that I wasn't listening to…" Harry said, muttering to himself as his bright smile slowly faded.

"… Toshiro Hitsugaya…" Toshiro said shortly as Harry's eye widened some.

Before Harry could say anything to the young boy, he saw a shadow fall over him. Turning to his side, Harry saw Snape standing over him with his index finger pointed at his temple. His eyes widened even more as he saw the energy quickly gathering at his index finger in the form of a circle.

"_**Hado #1: Sho**_." Snape said impassively as Harry felt like a rugby player had just connected with his forehead. He was blasted back, unable to stop his momentum, flipping through the air until he connected with a large rock, imprinting his body into as the wind was knocked out of his lungs.

"You're late… and your reaction time is slow. You allowed your surprise to hesitate your movements. You also couldn't stop yourself from colliding with that rock, and was unable to recover from that blow. You're even worst than I imagined." Snape drawled as Harry took in as much oxygen as he could before he collapsed from the crater he had created with his own body.

Harry felt to the ground on one knee while he looked up at Snape. The man's robes billowing softly around him as he must have moved at impossible speeds to catch him off-guard. Toshiro and Shuhei were still wide-eyed with shock as they stood frozen to their spot. Byakuya and Soi Fon looked ready to fight as Snape glanced at them and scoffed as if they weren't worth his time.

Harry got up from his knee, having regained his lost air and brushed his school robes off.

"That was the lowest of Hado, and yet it has taken you nearly a full minute to recover from it, Potter. You're pathetic." Snape said as Harry nearly allowed that to get to him.

"Sorry to disappoint, Professor." Harry said sarcastically as Snape rolled his eyes.

"Don't bother, you're always a disappointment, but I suppose fame isn't everything." Snape quipped as Harry quickly brought up his hand while Snape was in the middle of talking.

"Hado-"

"Too slow." Snape said, appearing at Harry's side as though he had just come out of a warp zone. Harry turned quickly to his right, and jumped away, just barely avoiding being blown to pieces like the rocky ground that he had been standing on.

"Good, you're improving. However, a battle will more than likely be settled with the first blow if one can. Never let someone catch you off-guard the first time." Snape said, his still smoking palm held out in front of him while Harry skidded across the ground, "We shall be doing this everyday at midnight. You will fight against me, and try not to die. I will attack, and you shall defend until you can counter from an opening."

"Fine with me." Harry said, all too happy to have the opportunity to take his Potions Professor down a peg or two, "But don't mind if I ask why."

"Why, you ask? Because Dumbledore wants you to be ready for the Dementors and worst things should you be made to face them. The reason I'm doing this? Because I made a promise a long time ago that I would do anything to help and protect you. Whether I like it or not, I will keep that promise." Snape said, trying to get everything out of the way as Harry nodded.

Neither of them cared very much for the other, but one thing was silently agreed on as they stared each other down. They would both do everything in their power to see the other collapsed at their feet.

Because neither would submit to the other.

* * *

><p>Harry rubbed his sore shoulders while Byakuya stomped out embers on his robes. The landscape of the training ground had changed greatly with their first day of training. Most of the rocks near the entrance were now rubble, there were many craters around, and a few fires that Snape was putting out.<p>

Harry glared at the man's back. The only hit he had managed to make were some small scratches that Snape had on the back of his hand from when he knocked away one of Harry's Kido. He himself had burns, and scratches galore, but Snape was perfectly fine, and perfectly smug.

"If you need to rest, there's a hot spring over the ridge. The children can stay here, but you had best get back to your dorm room in the next hour, Potter." Snape said as he put out the last fire. He turned to Harry with a barely repressed smug look, "And next time, don't be so pathetic as to try and attack me when I've called an end to our session."

"I'll think about it." Harry gritted out as Snape smirked before vanishing. Harry clenched his fists. The smug bastard!

"Did he say a hot spring?" Soi Fon asked as Harry nodded, "Then let's go! Hot springs are wonderful and few in Soul Society."

"Hmph." Harry said as he watched Byakuya and Soi Fon rush off to where the spring was supposed to be.

Aren't you two going?" Harry asked as he turned to Shuhei and Toshiro, who had come from hiding behind the rock that Soi Fon and Byakuya had been seated on while they all watched him get his ass kicked by his greasy Professor.

"Can we?" Toshiro asked shortly as Harry raised a brow.

"I'm not a kidnapper, Toshiro. But I have a feeling you're not supposed to be here anyway. So just do what you want." Harry said with a dismissive wave of his hand, "I'll bring you guys some clothes later, so just go to the spring and get cleaned up for now."

"What's wrong with our clothes?" Shuhei asked curiously.

"Other than the fact that you've been in them for a while; out in a forest and in here? They're dirty and it's not good hygiene to keep on the same dirty thing." Harry said, remembering how he had been made sick by wearing Dudley's dirty hand-me-downs.

"Fine. Let's just go, Shuhei. No sense arguing with our kidnapper." Toshiro said, and smirked at the indignant look on Harry's face.

"I am not a kidnapper!" Harry yelled.

* * *

><p>The safety measures imposed on the students since Sirius Black's second break-in made it impossible for Harry, Ron, and Hermione to go and visit Hagrid in the evenings. Their only chance of talking to him was during Care of Magical Creatures lessons.<p>

He seemed numb with shock at the verdict.

"S'all my fault. Got all tongue-tied. They was all sittin' there in black robes an' I kep' droppin' me notes and forgettin' all them dates yeh looked up fer me, Hermione. An' then Lucius Malfoy stood up an' said his bit, and the Committee jus' did exac'ly what he told 'em…"

"So then it wasn't your fault." Harry said bitterly with his hands clenched, "It was those damn corrupt Ministry officials."

"There's still the appeal!" Ron said fiercely, "Don't give up yet, we're working on it!"

And they were. They were walking back up to the castle with the rest of the class. Ahead they could see some Slytherin boy, who was walking with Crabbe and Goyle, and kept looking back, laughing derisively. Draco was ahead of the three with Pansy, Theo, and Blaise. They never looked back, and Harry got the feeling he had forgotten something.

"S'no good, Ron." Hagrid said sadly as they reached the castle steps, "That Committee's in Lucius Malfoy's pocket. I'm jus' gonna make sure the rest o' Beaky's time is the happiest he's ever had. I owe him that…"

Hagrid turned around and hurried back toward his cabin, his face buried in his handkerchief.

"Look at him blubber!" The Slytherin boy said as he, Crabbe, and Goyle had been standing just inside the castle doors, listening.

"Have you ever seen anything quite as pathetic?" the guy went on, "And he's supposed to be our teacher!"

"Someone needs to hit that git." Pansy muttered to Draco as Draco nodded along with Blaise and Theo.

"Just who are you anyway?" Harry asked as he glared up at the boy from the steps.

The boy wind-swept dirty blond hair, and looked every bit the role of a good student. Harry could have even mistook the boy for a Prefect as he held his robes the same way Percy did when flashing his badge. His brown eyes landing on Harry.

"Me? Oh, poor Potter doesn't know who I am? I'm William Thestor, heir to the Noble House of Thestor. Oh course, commoners such as you and your friends couldn't possible understand nobility." the boy said as Harry and Draco rolled their eyes and scoffed at the same time. Thestor narrowed his eyes as he rounded on Draco's posse and then on Harry.

"Is there something funny? We all know the House of Potter fell into disgrace and shame when they were killed by the Dark Lord, Malfoy." Thestor said, as Draco held his head up high while looking down on Thestor.

"Maybe, but don't forget that Potter here defeated the Dark Lord. That elevated their status even higher than it was previously, and that is saying something with the Potter's being one of the three most Ancient and Noble Houses." Draco said sneeringly down at Thestor, his eyes flashing silver, "Besides, what do newer Houses like your's know about true workings of nobility, anyway?"

Draco's friends and nearly every other Slytherin that was around laughed at Thestor while the boy's face turned a puce like Harry's Uncle Vernon. Thestor's fists clenched at his sides as he seethed in embarrassment.

"How dare you, Malfoy, you filthy little Veela-slut. And you, Potter, with your garbage friend and Mudblood." Thestor said in a low dangerous tone as everyone fell quiet.

Harry felt a fury in him bubble up to the surface while he and Draco both looked offended. Blaise and Ron both made furious moves toward Thestor, but Hermione and Pansy got there first.

SMACK! BAM!

Everyone stared at Hermione and Pansy (mostly Hermione) in shock. Hermione was looking sheepishly back at them with Ron putting his arm around her and grinning rather proudly. While Blaise and Theo held Pansy's clenched fist into the air dramatically.

"… I can't believe you just did that…" Ron muttered in shock to Hermione.

Hermione stared at her reddened hand in shock. She had just slapped William Thestor across the face with all the strength she could muster while Pansy knocked the boy off his feet with a powerful punch. Harry, Ron, Draco, Crabbe, Goyle, Blaise, and Theo all stood around the boy, now somewhat flabbergasted as Hermione raised her hand again.

"One, don't you dare call Hagrid pathetic! Two, don't you dare talk about Potter's family! Three, don't you ever call Draco that again! Four, don't insult Potter's friends; that's our job!" Pansy raved as Blaise and Theo chuckled while holding her back half-heartedly.

"That foul… evil… ugh!"

"Hermione!" Ron said weakly as he tried to grab her hand as she swung it back.

"Get off me, Ron!" Hermione yelled as she pulled out her wand. Harry had never seen Hermione so stressed out and furious before in his life. He had to admit, it seemed like she was taking all of her frustrations out on the Thestor boy. Harry moved to Draco as the still shocked boy stepped backward. Crabbe and Goyle looked at him for instructions, thoroughly bewildered.

"C'mon." Draco muttered, and in a moment, all three of them had disappeared into the passageway to the dungeons while Thestor was finally clamoring to his feet.

"You… You… You filthy Mudblood bitch! I'll kill you!" Thestor yelled in fury as he quickly turned on Pansy, "And you too, you stupid bint!"

Harry and Ron stepped in front of Hermione while she fought for them to move so she could rip the boy apart. Harry saw that Blaise and Theo were in the same situation with Pansy, though Pansy was being very vocal about what she was going to do and used quite a bit of colorful language.

Thestor looked around, seeing that he could win before he ran and disappeared into the castle.

"You'll pay!" Thestor's voice rang out as he got further away, "You'll all pay!"

"You better run, you bastard!" Hermione and Pansy both yelled after the fleeing boy.

"Hermione!" Ron said again, sounding both stunned and impressed.

"That was bloody brilliant!" Seamus shouted while slapping Dean a high-five. Hermione turned on Harry, still looking as though she had some pent-up stress to release.

"Harry, you'd better beat him in the Quidditch final!" Hermione said shrilly, "You just better had, because I can't stand it if Slytherin wins! If you don't I'll… I'll… "

"We're due in Charms." Ron said, still goggling at Hermione, "We'd better get going."

They hurried up the marble staircase toward Professor Flitwick's classroom, Pansy yelling after them that they'd make sure Draco was okay. Harry was so relieved.

"You're late, boys… a girl!" Professor Flitwick said reprovingly as Harry opened the classroom door, "Come along! Quickly! Yes, yes, wands out. We're experimenting with Cheering Charms today, we've already divided into pairs —"

Harry and Ron hurried to a desk at the back and opened their bags while Ron looked behind him.

"Where's Hermione gone?" Ron asked as Harry looked around too. Hermione hadn't entered the classroom, yet Harry knew she had been right next to him when he had opened the door.

"That's weird…" Harry muttered, staring at Ron, "Maybe… Maybe she went to the bathroom or something?"

But Hermione didn't turn up all lesson.

* * *

><p>"She could've done with a Cheering Charm on her, too." said Ron as the class left for lunch, all grinning broadly. The Cheering Charms had left them with a feeling of great contentment.<p>

Hermione wasn't at lunch either. By the time they had finished their apple pie, the after-effects of the Cheering Charms were wearing off, and Harry and Ron had started to get slightly worried.

"You don't think that Thestor guy did something to her…? Do you?" Ron said anxiously as they hurried upstairs toward Gryffindor Tower.

"Do you actually think that he is capable of handling her?" Harry scoffed as Ron shrugged.

"Well, he does seem to have Malfoy's two cronies now. Though they left with Malfoy, so I suppose not." Ron said shrugging, but then a look passed over his face.

"Wait a minute! You were fondling Malfoy the other day up at the Shrieking Shack." Ron said loudly, but then lowering his voice as Harry gave him a flat look. He had hoped Ron wouldn't bring it up and just forget about it, but he guessed not. Oh well…

"So?" Harry said flatly as Ron's ears went pink.

"So? You and Malfoy are... together?" Ron whispered as they passed the security trolls.

"Yeah." Harry replied as Ron gaped at him.

"When were you gonna tell me and Hermione?" Ron asked, looking slightly hurt.

"I was, back in August, but when I came in the common room all happy and kissed Hermione… and then Ginny-"

"Oh right… Yeah… sorry about that, mate." Ron said, his cheeks matching his ears.

"Don't mention it." Harry said as they walked up to the Fat Lady's portrait.

"Listen, Harry, as much as I don't like the slithery little git… Well, if he makes you happy, then that's all that matters." Ron said, patting Harry's shoulder as Harry smiled back at him.

"Thanks, Ron. By the way, Draco's a _girl_ in actuality." Harry said as Ron looked stunned for a second before shaking himself from it.

"Of course, because of the Veela-blood he's got in him… Uhh, _her."_ Ron muttered, his ears turning even darker.

* * *

><p>The two best friends gave the Fat Lady the password ("Flibbertigibbet"), and scrambled through the portrait hole into the common room. Harry went over to Colin while Ron was looking for Hermione.<p>

"There she is, Harry." Ron said as Harry looked up from his talk with Colin.

"Thanks a lot, Colin. I'll get them from you before curfew." Harry said as he rose from his seat next to the mousy boy.

"No problem Harry. Glad to be rid of 'em, actually. Now Mum and Dad can get me some new ones." Colin said as Harry looked back to flash the boy a smile. He hated asking things of others, but he was glad Colin was one of his most loyal followers- Harry meant, _supporters_- No, he meant _friends_.

Yeah… _friends_…

Harry and Ron gave onto an endearing sight that Ron almost cooed at. There she was, Hermione Granger, was sitting at a table… fast asleep with her head resting on an open Arithmancy book.

"Aww Harry, she looks so peaceful. Like a little otter." Ron mocked as Harry suppressed his laughter as best he could.

"Yeah, mate. She's an adorable sea otter, dreaming of life out of the tank and in the big ocean." Harry said as he and Ron chuckled.

"Ha, ha… Oh boy… Let's wake her up before she has a nightmare that she failed a test and gets scared for a month like last time." Ron said as he finally stopped laughing. He and Harry sat down on either side of her while Harry prodded her awake.

"Wha- Wha- What?" Hermione said, waking with a start and staring wildly around, "Is it time to go? W-Which lesson have we got now?"

"Divination, but it's not for another twenty minutes." Harry said, "Hermione, why didn't you come to Charms?"

"What? Oh no!" Hermione squeaked, "I forgot to go to Charms!"

"But how could you forget?" Harry asked suspiciously in a calm voice, "You were with us till we were right outside the classroom."

"I don't believe it!" Hermione wailed, ignoring him completely, "Was Professor Flitwick angry?"

"I don't think I've ever seen Professor Flitwick really angry." Harry said to Ron, shrugged.

"Oh, it was Thestor! I was thinking about him and I lost track of things!"

"You know what, Hermione?" Ron said as he looked down at the enormous Arithmancy book Hermione had been using as a pillow, "I reckon you're cracking up. You're trying to do too much."

"No, I'm not!" Hermione said, brushing her hair out of her eyes and staring hopelessly around for her bag, "I just made a mistake, that's all! I'd better go and see Professor Flitwick and say sorry… I'll see you in Divination!"

Hermione raced from the common room with all the speed she could muster while Ron stared after her. He turned to Harry, to complain about how Hermione had ignored his obvious question when he saw Harry staring at the spot Hermione had jumped up from.

"Harry? You okay, mate?" Ron asked as Harry kept staring at the spot, but he shook himself out of whatever trance he was in.

"Huh? Oh yeah… I'm just… fine." Harry said, glancing at the spot Hermione had been again before turning his full attention to Ron, "We had better get ready for Divination."

"Yeah, we better." Ron agreed as he got up and walked over to the boy's stairway. He looked back and saw that Harry was once again staring at Hermione's spot, "Coming, Harry?"

"Huh? Oh yeah, I'm coming. Just… just give me a minute…" Harry as Ron shrugged, rushing up the stairs and out of sight.

Harry got up and moved to the stairs, but glanced back at Hermione's spot. Earlier he had been unsure during the Thestor incident of which of his and Draco's friends had been unconsciously leaking spiritual pressure, but now he was sure.

Hermione was unlocking her own spiritual powers just like Draco.

* * *

><p>Hermione joined them at the foot of the ladder to Professor Trelawney's classroom twenty minutes later, looking extremely harassed.<p>

"I can't believe I missed Cheering Charms! And I bet they come up in our exams; Professor Flitwick hinted they might!"

Together they climbed the ladder into the dim, stifling tower room. Glowing on every little table was a crystal ball full of pearly white mist. Harry, Ron, and Hermione sat down together at the same rickety table.

"I thought we weren't starting crystal balls until next term." Ron muttered, casting a wary eye around for Professor Trelawney, in case she was lurking nearby.

"Don't complain, this means we've finished palmistry." Harry muttered back, "I was getting sick of her flinching every time she looked at my hands."

"Good day to you!" said the familiar, misty voice, of Professor Trelawney as she made her usual dramatic entrance out of the shadows. Parvati and Lavender quivered with excitement, their faces lit by the milky glow of their crystal ball.

"I have decided to introduce the crystal ball a little earlier than I had planned." Trelawney said, sitting with her back to the fire and gazing around, "The fates have informed me that your examination in June will concern the Orb, and I am anxious to give you sufficient practice."

Hermione snorted.

"Well, honestly… 'the fates have informed her'. Who sets the exam? She does! What an amazing prediction!" Hermione said, not troubling to keep her voice low. Harry and Ron choked back laughs.

It was hard to tell whether Professor Trelawney had heard them as her face was hidden in shadow. She continued, however, as though she had not.

"Crystal gazing is a particularly refined art." Trelawney said dreamily, "I do not expect any of you to See when first you peer into the Orb's infinite depths. We shall start by practicing relaxing the conscious mind and the external eyes —"

Ron began to snigger uncontrollably and had to stuff his fist in his mouth to stifle the noise.

"—so as to clear the Inner Eye and the super-conscious. Perhaps, if we are lucky, some of you will see before the end of the class."

"Hmm… so this is a crystal ball. It looks kinda like those orbs we use in the Academy to help us learn exercises to control or spiritual powers and pressures." Byakuya said, pointing at the crystal ball in front of Harry, who nearly jumped out of his skin at Byakuya's sudden appearance. Though he couldn't say he was fully surprised. Byakuya had taken it upon himself to sate his curiosity by joining in on Harry's lessons. The young noble was just too interested in the things Harry was learning to wait respectfully for him outside anymore, though this was the first time he had ever been by Harry or so far up front.

And so they began. Harry, at least, felt extremely foolish, staring blankly at the crystal ball, trying to keep his mind empty when thoughts such as "this is so stupid" kept drifting across it. It didn't help that Ron kept breaking into silent giggles, Hermione kept tutting, and Byakuya kept poking the orb to make it do something.

"Seen anything yet?" Harry asked his friends after a quarter of an hour's quiet crystal gazing while Byakuya was making faces into the crystal ball.

"Yeah, there's a burn on this table." Ron said, pointing, "Someone's spilled their candle."

"This is such a waste of time." Hermione hissed, "I could be practicing something useful. I could be catching up on Cheering Charms —"

Professor Trelawney rustled past.

"Would anyone like me to help them interpret the shadowy portents within their Orb?" she murmured over the clinking of her bangles.

"I don't need help." Ron whispered to them dramatically, "It's obvious what this means. There's going to be loads of fog tonight."

Both Harry and Hermione burst out laughing while Byakuya gave quiet chuckles.

"Now, really!" Professor Trelawney said as everyone's heads turned in their direction, both Parvati and Lavender were looking scandalized, "You are disturbing the clairvoyant vibrations!" she continued as she approached their table and peered into their crystal ball. Harry felt his heart sinking. He was sure he knew what was coming-

"There is something here!" Professor Trelawney whispered, lowering her face to the ball, so that it was reflected twice in her huge glasses, "Something moving… but what is it?"

Harry was prepared to bet everything he owned, including his Firebolt, that it wasn't good news, whatever it was. Then, he looked down at the orb only to see Byakuya moving his hand on the other side of it, making shadow puppets with his hand as he chuckled.

"Stop that." Harry muttered out the side of his mouth.

"But it's fun." Byakuya replied as Trelawney looked to have heard something.

"My dear…" Professor Trelawney breathed, gazing up at Harry, "It is here, plainer than ever before… My dear, stalking toward you, growing ever closer… glowing in this orb, and growling noisily as if in this very room is the Gr —"

"Oh, for _goodness'_ sake!" Hermione snapped loudly, "Not this ridiculous Grim _again!"_

Professor Trelawney raised her enormous eyes to Hermione's face. Parvati whispered something to Lavender, and they both glared at Hermione too. Professor Trelawney stood up, surveying Hermione with unmistakable anger.

"I am sorry to say that from the moment you have arrived in this class my dear, it has been apparent that you do not have what the noble art of Divination requires. Indeed, I don't remember ever meeting a student whose mind was so hopelessly mundane."

Byakuya chuckled as Harry subtly smacked him in the back of his head… hard.

There was a moment's silence. Then —

"Fine!" Hermione said suddenly, getting up and cramming _Unfogging the Future_ back into her bag, "Fine!" she repeated, swinging the bag over her shoulder and almost knocking Ron off his chair, "I give up! I'm leaving!"

And to the whole class's amazement, Hermione strode over to the trapdoor, kicked it open, and climbed down the ladder out of sight.

It took a few minutes for the class to settle down again. Professor Trelawney seemed to have forgotten all about the Grim. She turned abruptly from Harry and Ron's table, breathing rather heavily as she tugged her gauzy shawl more closely to her.

"Ooooo!" Lavender said suddenly, making everyone start, "Ooooo, Professor Trelawney, I've just remembered! You saw her leaving, didn't you? Didn't you, Professor? You said, "Around Easter, one of our number will leave us forever!" You said it ages ago, Professor! It was her! You saw Hermione!"

"… The hell…?" Harry muttered, looking at Trelawney as if she was on fire. While the overly dramatic woman gave her a dewy smile.

"Yes, my dear, I did indeed know that Miss Granger would be leaving us. One hopes, however, that one might have mistaken the Signs… The Inner Eye can be a burden, you know…"

Lavender and Parvati looked deeply impressed, and moved over so that Professor Trelawney could join their table instead.

"She was right…" Ron muttered as Harry nodded, both to stunned with Hermione's leaving and Trelawney having been proved right.

"I can't believe it…" Harry muttered as Byakuya shrugged and took Hermione's seat.

"It's just a class. Besides, people are bound to be right once in a while." Byakuya said as he shrugged once again.

"Her being right is like the sun _not_ shining; dreadful." Ron muttered as he cast his gaze to the table somberly. Harry tensed as he and Byakuya shared nervous looks.

Ron had heard Byakuya… _clearly_!

"Some day Hermione's having, eh?" Ron muttered to Harry, looking awed.

"Umm… Yeah…" Harry said, glancing nervously at Byakuya before he glanced into the crystal ball. He was hoping to see something interesting, but saw nothing except swirling white mist.

Had Professor Trelawney really seen the Grim again?

Would he die? The last thing he needed was another near-fatal accident, with the Quidditch final drawing ever nearer.

"_Maybe if I _really_ look into it_…" Harry thought, grasping the crystal ball in both hands and gazing into it. He kept his thoughts to a low, focusing on only the white mist…

The white mist… _white mist… mist… white mist_…

"_Harry, look out_!"

"_My Zanpakuto cuts you, and makes you doubt, Potter. That is it's power_."

"_I thought you loved me, Harry_!"

"You_ can call me Soi Fon, Harry… _only_ you_…"

"_I told you I'd make you pay, Potter_!Bankai!"

"_You've been living a double life! We thought you trusted us_!"

"_Never looked a gifted horse in the mouth, Harry my boy_."

"_It is against my honor to fight a child, Harry_."

"_You must accept the true justice of the world, Harry Potter! Now come with us or we will execute you and your friends_!"

"Harry!" Byakuya said as Harry's eyes shot wide open and he backed away from the crystal ball, gasping for air and feeling out of his mind.

"What the… What the _hell_ did I just see…?" Harry questioned as Byakuya and Ron looked concerned for him.

"Is there a problem?" Professor Trelawney asked as Harry glanced back at her.

"No… Not at all…" Harry breathed out, standing out when the bell rang for the end of class.

* * *

><p>The Easter holidays were not exactly relaxing. The Third Years had never had so much homework. Neville Longbottom seemed close to a nervous collapse, and he wasn't the only one.<p>

"Call this a holiday!" Seamus roared at the common room one afternoon, "The exams are ages away, what're they playing at?"

But nobody had as much to do as Hermione. Even without Divination, she was taking more subjects than anybody else. She was usually last to leave the common room at night, first to arrive at the library the next morning; she had shadows like Lupin's under her eyes, and seemed constantly close to tears.

Ron had taken over responsibility for Buckbeak's appeal.

When he wasn't doing his own work, he was poring over enormously thick volumes with names like The Handbook of Hippogriff Psychology and Fowl or Foul? A Study of Hippogriff Brutality. He was so absorbed, he even forgot to be horrible to Crookshanks.

Harry, meanwhile, had to fit in his homework around Quidditch practice every day, not to mention endless discussions of tactics with Wood. The Gryffindor-Slytherin match would take place on the first Saturday after the Easter holidays. Slytherin was leading the tournament by exactly two hundred points still, and it made being with Draco in his rare spare time a little frustrating. This meant (as Wood constantly reminded his team) that they needed to win the match by more than that amount to win the Cup. It also meant that the burden of winning fell largely on Harry, because capturing the Snitch was worth one hundred and fifty points.

"So you must catch it only if we're more than fifty points up." Wood told Harry constantly, "_Only_ if we're more than fifty points up, Harry, or we win the match but lose the Cup. You've got that, haven't you? You must catch the Snitch _only_ if we're —"

"I KNOW, OLIVER!" Harry yelled in exasperation.

Meanwhile, Harry had Soi Fon and Byakuya working on helping Ron with Buckbeak's case, and with helping Toshiro and Shuhei. Every night he would be with Snape, fighting the surprisingly agile Professor until one of them collapsed.

He was getting better at the whole game of cat and mouse between him and Snape. It mostly depended on who got in the first move, but other than that, the entire thing was like a giant stress relief for him. They threw snaky quips at each other, sarcastic comments, they even ranted about their day while firing off giant bolts of lightning or fireballs at each other. It was like a bond experience… to the death.

The whole of Gryffindor House was obsessed with the coming match. Gryffindor hadn't won the Quidditch Cup since the legendary Charlie Weasley (Ron's second oldest brother) had been Seeker. But Harry doubted whether any of them, even Wood, wanted to win as much as he did. The rivalry between Harry and Draco was at its highest point ever. Draco was still smarting about the "public molestation" incident in Hogsmeade and was even more furious that Harry had somehow forgotten about his punishment and thought he had wormed his way out of it. Harry hadn't forgotten Draco's attempt to sabotage him in the match against Ravenclaw, but it was the matter of Buckbeak that made him most determined to beat Draco in front of the entire school.

Oh, and that Thestor guy who was apparently on the Slytherin team as well…

* * *

><p>Snape stood atop a particular large rock ledge as he looked out over his training grounds with an impassive look. His hands folded behind his back, his body not moving an inch. Everything was quiet as Snape surveyed the area before him. Byakuya and Soi Fon were off to the side, sitting atop the rock that young Toshiro and Shuhei were hiding behind while they watched.<p>

Then, a small noise. It would have been nothing but a small creature, or even an insect at how small the sound had been. Except for one thing…

Snape's training ground didn't have any living organisms in it other than the people.

Snape didn't even need to turn as he ducked lazily under the kick Harry had sent to his head.

"Still making a noise, I see. Better luck next time, Potter." Snape sneered out as he twisted his body and matched Harry's second kick with one of his own.

"You had a second attack ready? Are you finally growing a brain?" Snape asked as Harry scoffed and flipped away.

As soon as his foot touched the ground, Snape was in front of him with an open-palm strike reared back. Harry took the palm strike, and diverted it as he kneed his Professor in the stomach. While Snape was trying to regain his lost air, Harry jumped and spun, kicking the man in the head before he raised his palm.

"_**Hado #31: Shakkaho**_!" Harry said, and quickly fired off a succession of large crimson-colored fireballs of energy.

"Your aim is off today, Potter. You must be distracted." Snape said impassively behind him as Harry turned with a backhand, but felt the man's hand connect to the side of his head.

He quickly recovered, flipping over in the air to ready himself as he skid across the ground.

"Yeah, I have that match against Draco and that Thestor boy I was telling you about." Harry said, and flipped just in time to not be impaled by the pale lightning spell Snape had performed.

"Ahh, yes, the Quidditch final is in a week. Maybe I should break your arm like last week so you can't play?" Snape said as Harry matched his strike with one of his own. He was slightly impressive that after 30 sessions, Potter was now able to fight so causally against him… though he'd never admit it.

"Maybe, but Poppy can mend bones in a heartbeat." Harry said cheekily as he disappeared and reappeared with another kick aiming to take off the man's head.

Snape ducked under it coolly and bend back even further as he began a series of flips. Halfway through he somehow discarded his robe, and allowed it to sail off to a nearby rock as he double-flipped over Harry's punch, which cracked the ground beneath them greatly.

"Draco's been pissing me off with his constant teasing about how Gryffindor hasn't won the Quidditch Cup in a while. Though I'm glad I can take my anger out on you instead of him." Harry said, aiming a high kick at Snape, who dodged easily, making the kick destroy the top-half of the boulder he had been in front of.

"Good, because if you ever hurt my godson, we'd be doing more than this sparring, Potter." Snape spat at Harry, who jumped out of the way as Snape's open palm strike destroyed the rest of the boulder.

Harry flipped away, but as soon as he stopped, Snape was crouched low with his fist cocked back as Harry raised his arms and used them to take the brunt of the blow while he went sailing through… three rocks before he was finally able to stop himself on the fourth.

"How's being the oh so lovably greasy Potions Master going?" Harry quipped as Snape rolled his eyes.

"Swimmingly." Snape replied shortly as Harry chuckled while jumping out of the way of a fireball.

"Been complaining about us again, I see." Harry snarked as the fireballs got bigger and harder to dodge.

"Albus still refuses to separate the Gryffindors and Slytherins from being in the same class. Then he had the gall to ask why we _don't_ use wands in the classroom. I was so furious that I hadn't spoke to him all day after that." Snape said as he switched from fireballs to some form of purple energy blasts while still keeping Harry on the run.

"Ah, yes, those near fatal incidents you complain so much about." Harry said as he danced out of the way of another blast.

"Yes, and I told him that. My exact words were, "With wands, you dunderhead, particularly the Gryffindor/Slytherin classes, those near fatalities I always gripe about will become actual fatalities." Then do you know what his response was?" Snape said sneeringly as he vanished from his spot of firing and reappeared in front of a wide-eyed Harry with his leg already high. He came down with a kick that Harry barely managed to block and divert, while he lashed out with a kick of his own.

"No, what?" Harry gritted out as he tried to push Snape's block back with more power. What he didn't expect was for the greasy-haired man to grab his leg and throw him at a boulder, though luckily he recovered in midair and landed atop the rock safely.

"He said, and I quote with a straight look on his face, "Perhaps you are right, Severus. A wand really does have no place in a Potions classroom," as if I were the one to bring it up! That old fool makes my blood boil sometimes." Snape said with a sigh as Harry snickered at him.

"I can tell. You're starting to crack under the pressure of being rejected for the DADA position. What was it this year, the… twelfth time?" for that smart remark and grin, Harry got more highly destructive spells launched at him.

"Yes it was, Potter. But you'll never know how it feels, as you becoming a teacher is about as likely as a monkey reaching the moon… in the magical world, not the Muggle one!" Snape said, then corrected upon seeing Harry's grin return.

"Now, now, Severus. You simply _must_ watch that temper. Won't want you to fall back into that nasty habit of smoking Gillyweed, now would we?" for that chipper quip, Harry nearly got himself burned to ashes as a large wall of blue fire came at him fast. He barely made it out of the way, the only thing that did was his right shoe as half of it was burned right off his foot along with most of his sock.

"I have only done Gillyweed _three_ times in my life, thank you very much. And after I'm done _murdering_ you, I think I'll use whatever is left of your corpse and smoke it _with_ my Gillyweed!" Snape roared as he sent a multitude of Kido after Harry, who flash-stepped randomly to dodge them.

Snape's eyes widened as Harry appeared above him with his foot high in the air.

"An opening!" Harry yelled as Snape cursed, his Kido halfway charged. He quickly abandoned the spell and let it explode in front of them while he traded high-speed attacks with Harry.

Harry got under him someway through the smokescreen, and swept his legs from under him, but he wasn't done as he punted his Professor away from him before banishing the smokescreen with a Kido.

"_**Hado #4: Byakurai**_!" Harry said as he shot white lightning at Snape, who recovered midair, and matched his Kido with the same quickly. The resulting explosion and dust cloud obscured Harry's vision as he quickly lost sense of his Professor's spiritual pressure.

Then the smoke cleared and Harry jumped as Snape's fist came at him. He prepared himself for the jaw-shattering punch, but it didn't come as he smiled at Snape.

"My dentist thanks you for pulling your punch, and not knocking my teeth out." Harry said as Snape rolled his eyes.

"I was just loosening this arm since that last kick managed to stiffen it a bit." Snape said as he turned quickly and tried to kick Harry in the throat, but the boy jumped back and lashed out with a low kick his own, which Snape dodged.

The two backed off as they jumped to opposite rocks, allowing themselves a moment's rest before they continued to their brutal second half of their session. Snape sat atop his rock just as Harry leaned on his.

"Looks like someone's a little more stressed out than usual." Harry mocked as Snape remained as impassive as he could.

"Yes, Potter, because I'm at that _oh_ so tender age where one has lots of worries." Snape said sarcastically as Harry chuckled.

"Oh? Going through a mid-life crisis, are we?" Harry said as Snape scoffed at him. He didn't reply as he glanced over to Toshiro and Shuhei, who cut the image of normal Hogwarts students in the old uniforms of Colin Creevey and Seamus Finnegan. Snape sighed as he got up from his rough seat. He had been feeling the effects of getting on in age ever since he started his little tussles with the Potter spawn, but he'd never let the boy know that.

"That's enough rest. Let's continue. Hado #33: Sokotsu…" Snape said in an almost bored drawl as he raised his hand and unleashed a torrent of hot blue flames that Harry just barely managed to dodge without being incinerated.

"Yeah, you're definitely more stressed out than usual, you greasy overgrown bat!" Harry yelled as tried his damnest to look arrogant and still stay alive.

But with Snape being so damn good at Kido… it was proving _very_ hard.

* * *

><p>"Excellent, excellent! My specimen has finally arrived!" Mayuri said excitedly as Harry, Byakuya, and Soi Fon walked into the Mission Room to see the mad scientist directing some Soul Reapers with a large cage that had a tarp over it.<p>

The man was nearly breath-taking, even to Harry, who had never considered a man as anything other than that. Unlike Draco though, Mayuri held his own sort of beauty, which was not effeminate, but very roguish. Mayuri's blue hair hung to the nape of his neck at the perfect height and angle. His perfect peach skin was only marred with the stitched-marking scars from whenever the man must have experimented on himself. His honey gold eye sparkled with an almost child-like glee and anticipation while his whitened teeth were exposed thanks to his large grin.

Harry had to admit that he didn't see why the mad scientist went around painted like a clown, especially after he told him that he washed the paint off every night and reapplied it every morning. Ever since Mayuri and Soi Fon had made that bet a while back, the near-insane researcher had been seen without his white paint on a whole lot more often, especially on days where he was in a rush or didn't feel like applying the stuff.

"Mayuri? What's going on? What's with the cage?" Harry asked as Mayuri turned to him, his smile dimming.

"Huh? Oh… it's you three… Haven't seen you in a while." Mayuri said, turning from them.

"Oh come on, Kurotsuchi. You're acting like a child." Soi Fon said as she and Harry made their way over to Mayuri, who turned back to them with an indignant look.

"I am not acting like a child!"

"Yeah… Yeah, you are." Soi Fon deadpanned with a hand on her hip as Harry looked between her and Mayuri in confusion.

"What in the name of Merlin is going on here? Why is Mayuri so moody, and what's with your hip attitude?" Harry asked as both Soul Reapers looked at him like he were crazy.

"What in the name of the Soul King are you talking about? What hip attitude? Is there a leak in your brain, Potter?" Soi Fon asked as she raised a brow at him, her hand still on her hip while Mayuri grinned.

"I hope there is. I've been wanting to study the inside of that beautiful cranium for a while now." Mayuri said, his grin exposing his perfectly white teeth.

"Anyways, what with you, Mayuri? You're more excited than I thought you could be." Harry said, moving the conversation along as Mayuri pointed toward covered cage, which was rattling violently.

"That is what has me in such a grand mood, my ignorant friend. Your Ministry for Magic has finally sent me a test subject from their prison of Azkaban. This prisoner will be subjected to me for the few weeks before going back." Mayuri said as Harry raised a brow.

"Who's the prisoner?" Harry asked as Mayuri waved his question off.

"No one you need to concern your small mind with. If you're looking for the Captains, then you should know that Captain Muguruma is preparing to leave in the next, so be quick if you want to catch him and the other two Captains together." Mayuri said, and Harry scowled at him, knowing a dismissal when he heard one.

"Fine, I guess I will go talk to them." Harry said as Mayuri sighed.

"Don't be so soft, Potter. I'm about to do some very… in depth work. I doubt you'd want to see." Mayuri said as Harry sighed.

"No, I don't think I would." Harry said, smirking at his friend's twisted nature as Mayuri grinned back at him.

Ascending the stairs to the second floor, Harry (with Soi Fon at his heels) knocked on the door to the room Ukitake normally reserved as he tea room.

"Come in." Ukitake's friendly voice said from inside as Harry sighed before pushed the wooden-paper sliding door aside to reveal himself to the three men.

Captain Muguruma seemed to be just like the type of man Harry had pegged him as. He seemed like the serious, no nonsense type that got easily annoyed with any immaturity. The guy was a tall, muscular man with sharp features. His overly serious expression was made even more expressive by his short light grey hair and brown eyes. Captain Muguruma had long front bangs, which hung over his face. He wore a sleeveless Soul Reaper uniform that was open on the front, exposing his chest and tattoo, his uniform being tied with a rope belt. His tattoo was the number "69" on his chest. He also wore a sleeveless Captain's coat and a pair of fingerless black gloves that covered most of his forearms.

All in all, the guy was somewhat of a scary person, and Harry could only imagine how he dealt with children.

"Oh, hello, Harry! It's good to see you!" Jushiro greeted kindly as Harry and Soi Fon (who bowed to her three superiors in respect) entered the room.

"Hello, Jushiro, Ginrei, Captain Muguruma." Harry greeted back as the three nodded to him, "I hope I'm not interrupting anything, am I?"

"No, not at all." Ginrei answered, "In fact, we were just talking about you."

"Yeah, Potter." Kensei said as he dug into his robes for something, "You left this behind."

And with that, Kensei tossed Harry his Substitute Badge as Harry caught it with ease. Harry looked down at the thing, and sat down on the empty cushion at the table while he placed the badge on the table.

"This is actually one of the reasons I wanted to come and see you all." Harry said as he slid the badge into the middle of the table, "Just what the bloody hell is this thing?"

"It's a combat pass." Jushiro said, "It allows you to-"

"No, I mean really, what is it _really_, Jushiro? This thing… whatever it is, is not just those things. I'm smarter than most of think, and you _know_ this. So please, Jushiro, tell me the truth; the _whole_ truth." Harry said, looking Jushiro in his eyes as the man sighed while Ginrei, Kensei, and Soi Fon watched the exchange in silence.

"You want the truth about this object? That is fine by me." Jushiro said as Harry nearly gasped at the change in Jushiro's eyes. No longer was there the friendly aura and sparkle in the man's eyes, but that of a serious and experienced leader who had seen to many things to be intimidated by this small moment.

"The truth is that this object, this pendant gives you the ability to separate your soul from your body in the absence of another not being around to do so. It also alerts you to the presence of Hollows here inside the grounds of Hogwarts, like our Soul Reaper Denreishinki. This badge can also be dangerous, and thus it has built-in protection; making it invisible to normal Humans. It is also a Seal of Approval which always you the right and responsibility of Hollow-slaying. If you are ever to lose your powers, all of the mentioned abilities of the badge are lost to you." Jushiro said, sighing as he closed his eyes for a moment, but snapped them open as he pressed on for Harry thought was the climax of his explanation, "However, the true powers of the badge is to… observe and restrict the owner."

"W-What?" Soi Fon gasped out as Ginrei closed his eyes and Kensei clicked his teeth. Harry, however, remained quiet and gazed intently into Ukitake's eyes.

"Yes, it's true. It is at once a surveillance device for Soul Society and a device to absorb, analyze, and control the user's reiatsu." Jushiro admitted, his head lowering in shame.

"I figured that out, but there must be more. Go on." Harry said, his arms crossed and his face set in an unreadable expression.

"It is also a device for communicating with Soul Society." Kensei said, seeing that Ukitake was taking to long, "The badge absorbed and stored your reiatsu, sending the information back to the Department of Research and Development and to it's creator."

"Whose it's creator?" Harry asked.

"Kisuke Urahara, Captain of the Twelfth Company and Head of the DRD." Ginrei said with his own arms together inside his sleeves and his eyes opening to glance at Harry.

"I see…" was all Harry said before changed the conversation to something less tense, "So… I have an epic Quidditch match coming up. I was wondering if you guys wanted to come and watch. Ya know, to learn up on Wizarding culture and whatnot."

Jushiro smiled as he looked up to Harry, "Yes, we'd love to attend your match, Harry."

It was then that Jushiro knew they had made the right choice after all.

* * *

><p>Never, not in anyone's memory, had a Quidditch match approached in such a highly charged atmosphere. By the time the holidays were over, tension between the two teams and their Houses was at the breaking point. A number of small scuffles broke out in the corridors, culminating in a nasty incident in which a Gryffindor fourth year and a Slytherin sixth year ended up in the hospital wing with leeks sprouting out of their ears.<p>

Harry sighed to himself, having a particularly bad time of it all. He couldn't walk to class without some sly Slytherin sticking their leg out, trying to trip him up; Crabbe and Goyle kept popping up wherever he went, and slouching away looking disappointed when they saw him surrounded by people. Wood had given instructions that Harry should be accompanied everywhere he went, in case the Slytherins tried to put him out of action. The whole of Gryffindor House took up the challenge enthusiastically, so that it was near impossible for Harry to get to classes on time, or talk with Byakuya or Soi Fon because he was surrounded by a vast, chattering crowd. However, Harry was more concerned for his Firebolt's safety than his own. When he wasn't flying it, he locked it securely in his trunk and frequently dashed back up to Gryffindor Tower at break times to check that it was still there.

All usual pursuits were abandoned in the Gryffindor common room the night before the match. Even Hermione had put down her books.

"I can't work, I can't concentrate." Hermione said nervously as Harry and Ron looked over t her.

"Why are you so nervous, I didn't think you cared that much about Quidditch?" Harry asked with a raised brow.

"I just want you to win, of course. It would make you so happy." Hermione said with an innocent expression that was the exact opposite of the evil and slightly malicious glint in her eyes.

"Hah! 'Mione just wants to see that arrogant git Thestor, and maybe Malfoy, lose as much as the rest of us. Especially that Thestor prat." Ron said as he lounged on the couch in the common room.

"True…" Hermione muttered, though they could hear her well.

There was a great deal of noise. Fred and George Weasley were dealing with the pressure by being louder and more exuberant than ever. Oliver Wood was crouched over a model of a Quidditch field in the corner, prodding little figures across it with his wand and muttering to himself. Angelina, Alicia, and Katie were laughing at Fred's and George's jokes.

Harry was sitting with Ron and Hermione, removed from the center of things, trying not to think about the next day, because every time he did, he had the horrible sensation that something very large was fighting to get out of his stomach.

"You're going to be fine." Hermione told him, though she looked positively terrified of what could happen, especially since Thestor had threatened to get at them.

"You've got a Firebolt!" Ron said with glee.

"Yeah. You're right." Harry said, even though his stomach was writhing.

It came as a relief when Wood suddenly stood up and yelled, "Team! Bed!"

* * *

><p>Harry slept badly, even though Snape had allowed him the night off from training. First he dreamed that he had overslept, and that Wood was yelling, "Where were you? We had to use Neville instead!"<p>

Then he dreamed that Thestor, Draco, and the rest of the Slytherin team arrived for the match riding dragons. He was flying at breakneck speed, trying to avoid a spurt of flames from Thestor's steed's mouth, when he realized he had forgotten his Firebolt.

He fell through the air and woke with a start, only to see that he wasn't in the dormitory.

"_Where am-"_

"_This meeting is to begin!" an aged and familiar voice yelled out as the sound of wood hitting wood caught Harry's attention from behind him._

_That was when his eyes widened at the distinguished group that was apparently having a meeting in the room. The room itself was an empty hall with shiny waxed wooden floors and dull blue walls._

_No, the room itself was nothing special, but the 13 people inside of it made Harry's eyes bug out._

_Sitting in a plain wooden chair was Professor Dumbledore, who was obviously preceding over the meeting. However, the man was wearing his flamboyant robes. No, everything about him was the same, except for the fact that he was wearing the robes of a Soul Reaper, a Captain's coat (or haori as Soi Fon and Byakuya had been trying to get him to call the thin whit coat) draped over his shoulders, and carrying a walking stick that looked like a oddly made walking cane, as though it had been a strong branch on a mighty oak at one point._

_Harry's eyes moved to Dumbledore's right, as he saw another familiar face. It was Professor McGonagall, and she looked stricter than ever as she stood straight backed with her chin held high in her Soul Reaper robes and haori. Next to the Transfiguration Professor was Madam Pomfrey, whose eyes were closed as an annoyed expression played on her face. Beside the irritated woman was a person that made Harry gasp in shock. Standing next to Madam Pomfrey was Draco Malfoy, whose own eyes were closed, but in a far more prideful and arrogant way while Pomfrey's eyes were closed to hold back her famous temper. Next to Draco was a man that made Harry even more shocked. It was Sirius Back! The man stood there, looking as though he had never seen a day of Azkaban, and hadn't been suspected of murdering Harry's parents. Harry decided to move on before he did something rash. There next to Black stood Oliver Wood, who stood at attention very well as a serious expression featured on his face while his eyes kept flickering to Professor Dumbledore. Next to Wood was Snape, who looked as though the meeting was cutting into his time and he wanted nothing more than to throttle Dumbledore, though that was mostly because Harry had learned to read the man's eyes instead of his impassive facial expression._

_Harry's eyes wondered to the left side of Dumbledore, where at the front of the line-up was his sickly Professor of DADA, Professor Lupin, whose robes, even as a Soul Reaper, looked shabby and tattered as though he were too poor to afford better ones. Next to the shabby and happy Professor stood a man Harry did not know._

_The man was tall, handsome, with jet black hair and dark eyes. The guy looked highly cultivated, like a slick politician or even a prince of some royal family. The man's eyes were dark, and even though he looked attentive, Harry could easily see that he was annoyed and even somewhat bored by the sudden meeting. Harry decided not to dwell on the guy, especially since his scar was hurting faintly, though Voldemort had to have been faraway gone since the mark wasn't burning and itching like it would._

_Harry suddenly turned his attention to see Seamus standing next to the man, a easy-going and laid back expression on his face that was mirrored by Sirius Black who stood opposite of him. Next to Seamus was Luna, who looked around airily, as though she had no clue and yet knew all of what was going on. Luna turned to then guy next to her and shared some words with him. The guy's only response was to grunt in a growling voice as he shifted his weight on his legs._

_The guy next to Luna was another person he didn't know. This man was of average height, and looked to be second oldest person in the room (next in age to Professor Dumbledore) with his graying hair and wrinkled face, looking as though it was carved from wood. The man looked to have seen battled that would have horrified others with all the scars he had, that and the large scar that ran on his nose, making it seem as though he were missing a chunk of said snout. He had dark grey, grizzled hair. However, the two most prominent features of the man was his false wooden leg and his eyes. The man's eyes were _definitely_ his most shocking feature; one was small and dark, while the other was a large, vivid electric blue eye that moved around (in _all_ directions!) independently of the normal eye or of the man himself. Harry figured it must have been magical. The guy's Soul Reaper robes look war-worn and tattered, though the guy seemed to wear them like an emblem of pride and valor._

_Deciding to no longer stare at the frighteningly grizzly man who Luna seemed to be so comfortable with (Harry hoped it wasn't her father, as that would ruin his imagine of the girl _forever_), Harry moved his gaze to the last person in the line-up… and nearly fainted._

_Standing there was a man of good height and build, a gentle smile tugging at the corners of his lips while he adjusted his round glasses. His almond-shaped emerald green eyes gazed over his colleagues with an air of friendliness and pleasant pride. His untidy jet black hair nestled atop his head in a boyish way of youth, parting sensibly only to reveal a lightning bolt curse off-center of forehead. The man's Soul Reaper robes looked clean pressed and spotless, while his hand held a faint scar which read, "_I must not tell lies._"_

_This was Harry James Potter, who Harry James Potter was staring at. He had never believed for a second he could look like this man before. Like such a strong and proud leader standing beside other powerful figures that shared in his pride. He never believed he could look so natural as they all quieted themselves and his Captain-self closed his eyes peacefully with a small smile. Harry didn't even know it, but he wanted so desperately to be the person who stood there, to be and look that naturally confident, to be and look that naturally at peace. How could he be at peace when the guy suspected of murdering his parents was least than ten feet away, smiling at him like they were on such good terms with one another._

… _Were they on good terms with each other? How could they? Was he truly _that_ forgiving? Maybe he had matured over time… and death?_

"_Hmph, I don't see why all of us were called in for a meeting. Especially when it was a fool from the Seventh Division who allowed those Ryoka to nearly gain entrance to the Seireitei." Draco said, his grey eyes snapping open as he openly scowled at Dumbledore, who merely looked back at him like he were a playful child._

"_Ahh, young Draco, I didn't think you would be the first to speak." Dumbledore said as Seamus smirked._

"_Yeah, _mate_. Especially when it your men who left the area before they were ordered to. If my subordinate hadn't been the Gate Keeper, and if he had been defeated, then no one would have been able to stop the Ryoka from getting in." Seamus said as Draco glared at him._

"_My men weren't required to stay once the gate had dropped. If they had, then there wouldn't be a need for a gate, now would there?" Draco sneered as he and Seamus glared at each other._

"_Honestly, dead for over a hundred years, and you two are still arguing like children." McGonagall said with a shake of her head while Draco snapped toward her._

"_I'd watch it if I were you, Minerva. Your division is in hot water, too. Especially since they didn't intercept the Ryoka as soon as they gained entrance to the Rukon district through that old passage." Draco said as McGonagall's lips thinned._

"_Enough. We're not here to bicker amongst ourselves. We're here to find out the situation thus far." the cultivated man said smoothly as everyone turned their attention to him in surprise. All but Harry's Captain-self._

"_I'm surprised you stopped them before I did." Sirius Black said with a smirk, "They do have a flare for bickering."_

"_And with that said, let us stomp out that flare." Dumbledore said, smoothly regaining control of the meeting, "As you all know, the Ryoka were repelled by the arrival of Lieutenant Krum. His and Captain Lupin's presence was more than enough to repel the Ryoka, and I am glad you kept the boy from killing them, Remus."_

"_Think nothing of it. Though I wish that we could have stopped them from escaping. With the gate having dropped, and needing to restrain Victor's more violent impulses, I didn't bother to give catch. Please forgive me." Lupin said with a respectful bow._

"_Now that is something you can think nothing of, Remus my boy." Dumbledore said as the others nodded, though Draco, the suave man, and Snape did so reluctantly._

"_Yeah, man. I apologize for my Lieutenant's attitude. We've had a stressful week, and he's been wanting to find a way of blowing off that steam." Seamus said, rubbing at the back of his neck in embarrassment._

"_That's right, you've been made to do even more paperwork and field assignments in Rukon with that mysterious event happening." Lupin said as Seamus nodded._

"_Yeah, and it's a pain in-"_

"_Captain Finnigan! We are dignified people! Please use so decorum, for all our sakes." McGonagall said as Seamus shrugged._

"_Never the less, the Ryoka got away. But do not fret, they shall attempt to gain entrance once more. And even more times until they have finally gotten in. I ask that you all have your division's unseated members searching the grounds for these Ryoka. The seated members will coordinate the search points, and report to their division's Lieutenants, who will then submit their reports to all of you and then you to me. We will run these searches everyday, and until we are sure the Ryoka are either gone or sighted, please bare with it." Dumbledore said as they all nodded._

"_Head-Captain Dumbledore, might I ask something?" Harry's Captain-self said as he stepped forth. Dumbledore's eye twinkled as everyone's attention snapped to him with rapid curiosity, as though none of them had expected him to speak at all during the meeting._

"_Yes, but of course, Captain Potter! What is it that troubles you, Harry?" Dumbledore said as Harry sighed. Harry stared at himself, not having seen anything that gave away his apparently worried state._

"_Is it that obvious?" Harry asked as all the others nodded with some mirth._

"_I'm sorry, my boy." Dumbledore said as Harry shrugged._

"_No matter. As you all know, the Ministry of Souls or Central 66 as we sometimes refer to them has been in deliberation for some time now since the… incident. I was wondering if they've come to a decision yet." Harry said as the twinkle in Dumbledore's eyes dimmed a bit._

"_I'm sorry, Harry, but they have not. However, they have agreed at the moment that the death penalty is far to strict a sentence in which their counterpart, Central 46, has issued. They are looking into the case and it's resulting time as of now, but have not reached a verdict as of yet. I'm sorry." Dumbledore said as he lowered his head somewhat._

"_No, no! I'm actually glad! That means they may challenge Central 46's decision and ask for an appeal. This is good news, little good, but good none the less." Harry said with soft smile as the others looked happy at his happiness._

"_I shall visit the Ministry myself, Captain Potter, so if they are willing to allow, I shall gain more insight on their thoughts as thus far." the charming man said as Harry's Captain-self turned to him and smiled brightly._

"_Thank you. You have no idea how much that means to me. Thank you." Harry said gratefully as the man nodded, but waved off his thanks._

"_Think nothing of it. I merely had some business with Central 66 myself, and thus would like to help a colleague at the same time. I, for one, believe in the phrase, "killing two birds with one stone", so don't worry about it." The guy said as some of the other Captains scowled at his choice of phrase, especially Wood, Black, and the grizzly man with the magical eye._

"_Well then, I think we can skip all the other boring business of the evening, and end this meeting at once. You are all dismissed!" Dumbledore said, and with a echoing tap of his wooden cane against the wooden floor boards, the giant doors behind Harry opened completely and allowed the Captains out of the meeting room._

"_I'd watch that Captain of the Fifth Division if I were you, Harry. You know his past." Wood said as he walked beside Harry, Draco, and Black._

"_Yes, Potter. Don't go making the same Gryffindor mistakes you made in life." Draco said as Harry's alter-self seemed offended by their claims._

"_If you all don't trust him, then trust me; he'll as trustworthy as one can be." Harry's other-self said, and then quickened his pace while the others were left in shock at his hardened tone._

"_I hope you're right, pup… I just hope you're right." Sirius Black said as Harry felt himself being pulled from the scene._

* * *

><p>Harry awoke with a start, sitting up in his bed as he gasped for air. He looked around frantically, hoping that his first and second dreams hadn't come true. It was a few seconds before Harry remembered that the match <em>hadn't<em> taken place yet, that he was safe in bed, and that the Slytherin team definitely would _not_ be allowed to play on dragons no matter how much money Draco had.

Harry licked at his dry lips, feeling very thirsty for some reason. Quietly as he could, he got out of his four-poster and went to pour himself some water from the silver jug beneath the window. He sighed as he looked over the grounds, which were still and quiet. No breath of wind disturbed the treetops in the Forbidden Forest; the Whomping Willow was motionless and innocent-looking.

It looked as though the conditions for the match would be perfect.

Harry set down his goblet and was about to turn back to his bed when something caught his eye. An animal of some kind was prowling across the silvery lawn.

Harry dashed to his bedside table, snatched up his glasses, and put them on, hurrying back to the window. It couldn't be the Grim… not now… not right before the match!

He peered out at the grounds again and, after a minute's frantic searching, spotted it. It was skirting the edge of the forest now… It wasn't the Grim at all… it was a cat… Harry clutched the window ledge in relief as he recognized the bottlebrush tail. It was only Crookshanks…

Or was it only Crookshanks, Harry questioned mentally as he squinted, pressing his nose flat against the glass. Crookshanks seemed to have come to a halt. Harry was sure he could see something else moving in the shadow of the trees too.

And just then, it emerged; a gigantic, shaggy black dog, moving stealthily across the lawn, Crookshanks trotting at its side.

What… the… hell? Was Crookshanks friends with that thing? And if so, if Crookshanks could see it as well, then how could it be an omen of his death? Was the Grim just another intelligent talking-animal like Crookshanks was, or was it something else?

"I thought cats and dogs weren't supposed to get along?" Byakuya said beside Harry as Harry didn't even bother with being surprised as he focused all of his attention on the dark dog and the ginger cat, "It looks like Crookshanks is really good friends with that dog, too."

"Yeah…" Harry said as he continued to stare. What did it mean? If Crookshanks and Byakuya could see the dog as well, how could it be an omen of his death? Or was it something that only spirits could see? Harry needed to test this theory, and there was only one way.

"Ron!" Harry hissed, "Ron! Wake up!"

"H-Huh…?" Ron answered groggily.

"I need you to tell me if you can see something!" Harry said as she dragged Ron out of bed. Ron rubbed at his eyes, looking out the window sleepily.

"S'all dark, Harry." Ron muttered thickly, "What're you on about?"

"Down… here —"

Harry looked quickly back out of the window.

Crookshanks and the enormous dark, shaggy dog had vanished. Harry climbed onto the windowsill to look right down into the shadows of the castle, but they weren't there. Where had they gone?

"Byakuya?"

"Huh? Oh, they went toward that violent tree and disappeared?" Byakuya said with shrug, "I looked away when you pushed your friend over here and they had gone."

Harry was about to reply, but a loud snore told him Ron had fallen asleep again. Harry sighed as he bid Byakuya a good night, and then went back to bed. He needed all the sleep he could get now.

* * *

><p>Harry and the rest of the Gryffindor team entered the Great Hall the next day to thunderous applause. Harry couldn't help grinning broadly as he saw that both the Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff tables were applauding them too. The Slytherin table hissed loudly as they passed, mostly in an inside joke to Harry about Draco getting the better of him. Though Harry's attention was drawn to Draco as he noticed that the blond was looking even paler than usual.<p>

"Are you okay?" Harry mouthed as Draco glanced at him and nodded, Pansy rubbing circles in his back while Blaise was mixing something in his morning pumpkin juice.

Wood spent the whole of breakfast urging his team to eat, while touching nothing himself. Harry however, was being force fed by his three female teammates while his eyes kept wandering over to Draco. What was wrong with his snake?

Wood hurried them off to the field before anyone else had finished, so they could get an idea of the conditions. As they left the Great Hall, everyone applauded again.

"Good luck, Harry!" Cho called as Harry felt himself blush from the attention he was receiving. He never thought he'd have girls called after him. It was a bit fun, actually. Though when Harry looked back, all he caught was Draco's glare and saw how Draco's cute little nose was wrinkled up in disgust.

"You like me more, right?" Draco mouthed demandingly as Harry nodded quick enough to snap his neck.

"There's no comparison." Harry mouthed back as Draco smirked confidently despite his sickly appearance.

Out on the field, Wood was making assessments a mile a minute while they all stood in their usual line-up.

"Okay, no wind to speak of. Sun's a bit bright, that could impair your vision, so watch out for it. The ground's a fairly hard, good, that'll give us a fast kickoff.

Wood paced the field, staring around with the team behind him. Finally, they saw the front doors of the castle open in the distance and the rest of the school spilling onto the lawn.

"Locker rooms. Now." Wood said tersely.

None of them spoke as they changed into their scarlet robes. Harry wondered if they were feeling like he was: as though he'd eaten something extremely wriggly for breakfast.

In what seemed like no time at all, Wood was saying, "Okay, it's time, let's go."

They walked out onto the field to a tidal wave of noise. Three quarters of the crowd was wearing scarlet rosettes, waving scarlet flags with the Gryffindor lion upon them, or brandishing banners with slogans like "GO, GO GRYFFINDOR!" and "LIONS FOR THE CUP!" Behind the Slytherin goal posts, however, two hundred people were wearing green; the silver serpent of Slytherin glittered on their flags, and Professor Snape sat in the very front row, wearing green like everyone else, and a very grim smile.

"And here are the Gryffindors!" Lee Jordan yelled, acting as commentator (as usual). "Potter, Bell, Johnson, Spinnet, Weasley, Weasley, and Wood! Widely acknowledged as the best team Hogwarts has seen in a good few years."

Lee's comments were drowned by a tide wave of boos from the Slytherin end.

"And here come the Slytherin team, led by Captain Flint. He's made some changes in the lineup and seems to be going for size rather than skill."

More boos from the Slytherin crowd. Harry, however, thought Lee had a point. Draco was easily the smallest person on the Slytherin team; the rest of them were enormous, with Thestor looking about proudly with his chin held high as the second smallest person.

* * *

><p>"Captains, shake hands!" Madam Hooch said.<p>

Flint and Wood approached each other and grasped each other's hand very tightly; it looked as though each was trying to break the other's fingers.

"Mount your brooms!" Madam Hooch said after a roll of her eyes, "Three… two… one…"

The sound of her whistle was lost in the roar from the crowd as fourteen brooms rose into the air. Harry felt his hair fly back off his forehead; his nerves left him in the thrill of the flight. Harry glanced around, seeing that Draco on his tail before he sped off in search of the Snitch.

"Not that easy, Draco sweet!" Harry laughed as he sped away.

"And it's Gryffindor in possession, Alicia Spinner of Gryffindor with the Quaffle, heading straight for the Slytherin goal posts, looking good, Alicia! Argh, no — Quaffle intercepted by Warrington, Warrington of Slytherin tearing UP the field — WHAM! — nice Bludger work there by George Weasley, Warrington drops the Quaffle, it's caught by — Johnson, Gryffindor back in possession, come on, Angelina — nice swerve around Montague — duck, Angelina, that's a Bludger! – SHE SCORES! TEN-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

Angelina punched the air as she soared around the end of the field; the sea of scarlet below was screaming its delight

"OUCH!"

Angelina was nearly thrown from her broom as Marcus Flint went smashing into her.

"Sorry!" Flint said as the crowd below booed, "Sorry, didn't see her!"

A moment later, Fred Weasley chucked his Beater's club at the back of Flint's head. Flint's nose smashed into the handle of his broom and began to bleed.

"That will do well enough!" Madam Hooch shrieked, zooming between them, "Penalty shot to Gryffindor for an unprovoked attack on their Chaser! Penalty shot to Slytherin for deliberate damage to their Chaser!"

"Come off it, Miss!" Fred howled, but Madam Hooch blew her whistle and Alicia flew forward to take the penalty.

"Come on, Alicia!" Lee Jordan yelled into the silence that had descended on the crowd. "YES! SHE'S BEATEN THE KEEPER! TWENTY-ZERO TO GRYFFINDOR!"

"Yes." Harry muttered to himself as he turned the Firebolt sharply to watch Flint, who was still bleeding freely, fly forward to take the Slytherin penalty. Wood was hovering in front of the Gryffindor goal posts, his jaw clenched.

"Of course, Wood's a superb Keeper!" Lee Jordan told the crowd as Flint waited for Madam Hooch's whistle, "Superb! Very difficult to pass — very difficult indeed — YES! I DON'T BELIEVE IT! HE'S SAVED IT!"

"Good." Harry said, letting out a sigh of relief he didn't know he was holding as he zoomed away, gazing around for the Snitch, but still making sure he caught every word of Lee's commentary.

It was essential, after all, that he hold Draco off the Snitch until Gryffindor was more than fifty points up.

"Gryffindor in possession, no, Slytherin in possession — no! Gryffindor back in possession and it's Katie Bell, Katie Bell for Gryffindor with the Quaffle, she's streaking up the field — THAT WAS DELIBERATE!"

Thestor, apparently a Slytherin Chaser, had swerved in front of Katie, and instead of seizing the Quaffle, he had grabbed her head. Katie cart-wheeled in the air, managed to stay on her broom, but dropped the Quaffle.

"Why that… _that_…" Harry muttered to himself as Madam Hooch's whistle rang out again. She soared over to Thestor and began shouting at him. A minute later, Katie had put another penalty past the Slytherin Seeker.

"THIRTY-ZERO! TAKE THAT, YOU DIRTY, CHEATING —"

"Jordan, if you can't commentate in an _unbiased_ way —"

"I'm telling it like it is, Professor!"

Harry felt a huge jolt of excitement. He had seen the Snitch; it was shimmering at the foot of one of the Gryffindor goal posts, but he couldn't catch it yet… and if Draco saw it…

Faking a look of sudden concentration, Harry pulled his Firebolt around and sped off toward the Slytherin end, and it worked. Draco went haring after him, clearly thinking Harry had seen the Snitch there…

WHOOSH.

One of the Bludgers came streaking past Harry's right ear, hit by the gigantic Slytherin Beater, Derrick. Then again…

WHOOSH.

The second Bludger grazed Harry's elbow. The other Beater, Bole, was closing in.

Harry had a fleeting glimpse of Bole and Derrick zooming toward him, clubs raised — He turned the Firebolt upward at the last second, and Bole and Derrick collided with a sickening crunch.

"Bastards!" Draco roared as he kept flying, eyes darting everywhere as he tried to find the Snitch.

"Ha, aha, ha!" Lee Jordan yelled as the Slytherin Beaters lurched away from each other, clutching their heads, "Too bad, boys! You'll need to get up earlier than that to beat a Firebolt! And it's Gryffindor in possession again, as Johnson takes the Quaffle — Flint alongside her — poke him in the eye, Angelina! — it was a joke, Professor, it was a joke — oh no — Flint in possession, Flint flying toward the Gryffindor goal posts, come on now, Wood, save —!"

But Flint had scored; there was an eruption of cheers from the Slytherin end, and Lee swore so badly that Professor McGonagall tried to tug the magical megaphone away from him.

"Sorry, Professor, sorry! Won't happen again! So, Gryffindor in the lead, thirty points to ten, and Gryffindor in possession —"

It was turning into the dirtiest game Harry had ever played in, and Draco must have been thinking the same as he whistled at the chaos. Enraged that Gryffindor had taken such an early lead, the Slytherins were rapidly resorting to any means to take the Quaffle. Bole hit Alicia with his club and tried to say he'd thought she was a Bludger. George Weasley elbowed Bole in the face in retaliation. Madam Hooch awarded both teams penalties, and Wood pulled off another spectacular save, making the score forty-ten to Gryffindor.

The Snitch had disappeared again as Draco was still keeping close to Harry as he soared over the match, looking around for it once Gryffindor was fifty points ahead —

Katie scored.

"Yes!" Harry cheered quietly as he saw the score.

Fifty-ten. Fred and George Weasley were swooping around her, clubs raised, in case any of the Slytherins were thinking of revenge. Bole and Derrick took advantage of Fred's and George's absence to aim both Bludgers at Wood; they caught him in the stomach, one after the other, and he rolled over in the air, clutching his broom, completely winded.

Madam Hooch was beside herself —

"YOU DO NOT ATTACK THE KEEPER UNLESS THE QUAFFLE IS WITHIN THE SCORING AREA!" she shrieked at Bole and Derrick. "Gryffindor penalty!"

And Angelina scored. Sixty-ten.

"Alright… almost there…" Harry muttered as moments later, Fred pelted a Bludger at Thestor, knocking the Quaffle out of his hands; Alicia seized it quickly, and put it through the Slytherin goal; seventy-ten.

"CATCH THE SNITCH NOW, HARRY!" Wood roared as the Gryffindor crowd below was screaming itself hoarse. Gryffindor was now sixty points in the lead, and if Harry caught the Snitch now, the Cup was theirs. Harry could almost feel hundreds of eyes following him as he soared around the field, high above the rest of the game, with Draco speeding along behind him.

And then he saw it. The Snitch was sparkling twenty feet above him.

Harry put on a huge burst of speed; the wind was roaring in his ears; he stretched out his hand, but suddenly, the Firebolt was slowing down —

Horrified, he looked around. Draco had thrown himself forward, grabbed hold of the Firebolt's tail, and was pulling it back.

"You little cheat!" Harry said beside himself.

Harry was angry enough to knock Draco's lights out... but unfortunately he couldn't reach his little tart of a snake. Draco, the weakling git he was, was panting with the effort of holding onto the Firebolt, but his eyes were sparkling maliciously. He had achieved what he'd wanted to do; the Snitch had disappeared again.

"Penalty! Penalty to Gryffindor! I've never seen such tactics." Madam Hooch screeched, shooting up to where Draco was sliding back onto his Nimbus 2001.

"YOU CHEATING SCUM!" Lee Jordan was howling into the megaphone, dancing out of Professor McGonagall's reach. "YOU FILTHY, CHEATING BINT!"

Professor McGonagall didn't even bother to tell him off. She was actually shaking her finger in Malfoy's direction, her hat had fallen off, and she too was shouting furiously. Harry and Draco's faces colored at the language and phrases their normally upright and morally sound Professor was using.

"Potter, what's a slag? I have a feeling I should be furious and you should be defending my honor." Draco asked as Harry's face went an even deeper red, but still managed to flip Draco off before racing away.

Alicia took Gryffindor's penalty, but she was so angry she missed by several feet. The Gryffindor team was losing concentration and the Slytherins, delighted by Draco's foul on Harry, were being spurred on to greater heights.

"Slytherin in possession, Slytherin heading for goal — Thestor scores… Ugh…" Lee groaned out, "Seventy-twenty to Gryffindor…"

Harry was now marking Draco so closely their knees kept hitting each other. Harry wasn't going to let Draco anywhere near the Snitch…

"Get out of it, Potter!" Draco yelled in frustration after a while as he tried to turn and found Harry blocking him.

"Angelina Johnson gets the Quaffle for Gryffindor, come on, Angelina, COME ON!"

Harry looked around. Every single Slytherin player apart from Draco was streaking up the pitch toward Angelina, including the Slytherin Keeper — they were all going to block her — Harry wheeled the Firebolt around, bent so low he was lying flat along the handle, and kicked it forward. Like a bullet, he shot toward the Slytherins.

"AAAAAAARRRGH!" Harry yelled as the snakes scattered when the Firebolt zoomed toward them; Angelina's way was clear.

"SHE SCORES! SHE SCORES! Gryffindor leads by eighty to twenty!" Lee Jordan yelled in joy.

Harry, who had almost pelted headlong into the stands, skidded to a halt in midair, reversed, and zoomed back into the middle of the field.

And then he saw something to make his heart stand still. Draco was diving, a look of smug triumph on his face; there, a few feet above the grass below, was a tiny, golden glimmer.

"Ahh, crap, crap, crap!" Harry chanted as he urged the Firebolt downward, but Draco was miles ahead —

"Go! Go! Go!" Harry urged his broom. He was steadily gaining on Draco. Harry flattened himself to the broom handle as Bole sent a Bludger at him. He was at Draco's ankles… he was level.

Harry threw himself forward, taking both hands off his broom. He knocked Draco's arm out of the way and — Hell yeah!

"Yes!" Harry yelled as he pulled out of his dive, his hand in the air while the stadium exploded in loud cheers. Harry soared above the crowd, an odd ringing in his ears. The tiny golden ball was held tight in his fist, beating its wings hopelessly against his fingers.

Then Wood was speeding toward him, half-blinded by tears; he seized Harry around the neck and sobbed unrestrainedly into his shoulder. Harry felt two large thumps as Fred and George hit them; then Angelina's, Alicia's, and Katie's voices, "We've won the Cup! We've won the Cup!" Tangled together in a many-armed hug, the Gryffindor team sank, yelling hoarsely, back to earth.

Wave upon wave of crimson supporters was pouring over the barriers onto the field. Hands were raining down on their backs. Harry had a confused impression of noise and bodies pressing in on him. Then he, and the rest of the team, were hoisted onto the shoulders of the crowd. Thrust into the light, he saw Hagrid, Plastered with crimson rosettes — "Yeh beat 'em, Harry! Yeh beat 'em! Wait till I tell Buckbeak!" Harry was glad he had somewhat cheered Hagrid up after him not doing anything to help Buckbeak.

Harry looked about. There was Percy, jumping up and down like a maniac, all dignity forgotten. Professor McGonagall was sobbing harder than even Wood, wiping her eyes with an enormous Gryffindor flag; and there, fighting their way toward Harry, were Ron and Hermione. Words failed them. They simply beamed as Harry was borne toward the stands, where Dumbledore stood waiting with the enormous Quidditch Cup. Even Draco and his team begrudgingly were faking their "good sportsmanship" claps as Snape stood over them, clapping lightly. Though Draco was mouthing things at him that he didn't feel he could repeat in public without blushing.

However, Harry smiled his biggest as he looked out behind the crowd to see Byakuya, Soi Fon, and Mayuri all clapping and cheering for him alongside the three Captains and Hachi, who were clapping politely back up in the stadium.

If only there had been a Dementor around, Harry thought as a sobbing Wood passed Harry the Quidditch Cup, while he lifted it into the air, Harry felt he could have produced the world's best Patronus.

* * *

><p>Harry's euphoria at finally winning the Quidditch Cup lasted at least a week. Even the weather seemed to be celebrating; as May approached, the days became cloudless and sultry, and all anybody felt like doing was strolling onto the grounds and flopping down on the grass with several pints of iced pumpkin juice, perhaps playing a casual game of Gobstones, or watching the giant squid propel itself dreamily across the surface of the lake.<p>

"That thing freaks me out…" Byakuya muttered one day as Harry and Soi Fon laughed at him.

But they couldn't enjoy it too often. Exams were nearly upon them, and instead of lazing around outside, the students were forced to remain inside the castle, trying to bully their brains into concentrating while enticing wafts of summer air drifted in through the windows. Even Fred and George Weasley had been spotted working; they were about to take their O.W.L.s (Ordinary Wizarding Levels). Percy was getting ready to take his N.E.W.T.s (Nastily Exhausting Wizarding Tests), the highest qualification Hogwarts offered. As Percy hoped to enter the Ministry of Magic, he needed top grades. He was becoming increasingly edgy, and gave very severe punishments to anybody who disturbed the quiet of the common room in the evenings. In fact, the only person who seemed more anxious than Percy was Hermione.

Harry and Ron had given up asking her how she was managing to attend several classes at once, but they couldn't restrain themselves when they saw the exam schedule she had drawn up for herself. The first column read:

Monday

9 o'clock, Arithmancy

9 o'clock, Transfiguration

Lunch

1 o'clock, Charms

1 o'clock, Ancient Runes

"Hermione?" Ron said cautiously, because she was liable to explode when interrupted these days, "Umm… are you sure you've copied down these times right?"

"What?" Hermione snapped, picking up the exam schedule and examining it. "Yes, of course I have."

"Is there any point asking how you're going to sit for two exams at once?" Harry asked with a raised brow.

"No." Hermione said shortly, tugging down her silver necklace, "Have either of you seen my copy of _Numerology and Gramatica_?"

"Oh, yeah, I borrowed it for a bit of bedtime reading…" Ron said, but very quietly so Hermione wouldn't hear him.

"Prat." Hermione muttered loud enough for them to hear as Ron's ears went pink. Looks like she heard him anyway.

Hermione started shifting heaps of parchment. Harry, Ron, and Hermione had plenty of opportunity to speak to Hagrid.

"Beaky's gettin' a bit depressed." Hagrid told them, bending low on the pretense of checking that Harry's flobberworm was still alive, "Bin cooped up too long. But still… we'll know day after tomorrow… one way or the other…"

They had Potions that afternoon, which was an unqualified disaster. Try as Harry might, for some strange reason he couldn't get his Confusing Concoction to thicken. Snape, who had been standing over him and practically breathing down his neck, frowned in thought.

"Hmm…" Snape hummed in thought as he shrugged with an air of vindictive pleasure before he began scribbling something. Harry caught him walking away, and peered at his notes, seeing his name and something that looked suspiciously like a zero next to it with some note for later beside the zero.

"Greasy git." Ron muttered as he saw Snape move away from them. Draco shot Ron a look.

"Watch it, Weasely. That's my godfather you're talking about." Draco said as Ron scoffed.

"Shut up, Malfoy." Ron whispered back as he stuck his tongue out and patted Harry's shoulder. Draco growled at him as Harry caught Ron's look of smug justice.

Honestly, the two were using him to get to each other was so low, even the Basilisk he had killed last year in the Chamber of Secrets was looking down on the two.

Then came Astronomy, which was at midnight so Harry was forced to get beaten into a bloody pulp much sooner than normal by Snape. It was up on the tallest tower.

Then there was History of Magic on Wednesday morning, in which Harry scribbled everything Florean Fortescue had ever told him about medieval witch-hunts, while wishing he could have had one of Fortescue's choconut sundaes with him in the stifling classroom.

Wednesday afternoon meant Herbology, in the greenhouses under a baking-hot sun; then they went back to the common room once more, with sun-burnt necks, thinking longingly of this time next day, when it would all be over.

Their second to last exam, on Thursday morning, was Defense Against the Dark Arts. Professor Lupin had compiled the most unusual exam any of them had ever taken; a sort of obstacle course outside in the sun, where they had to wade across a deep paddling pool containing a Grindylow, cross a series of potholes full of Red Caps, squish their way across a patch of marsh while ignoring misleading directions from a Hinkypunk, then climb into an old trunk and battle with a new Boggart.

"Excellent, Harry." Lupin muttered as Harry climbed out of the trunk, grinning while his palms were still smoking faintly, "Full marks."

Flushed with his success, Harry hung around to watch Ron and Hermione. Ron did very well until he reached the Hinkypunk, which successfully confused him into sinking waist-high into the quagmire. Hermione did everything perfectly until she reached the trunk with the Boggart in it. After about a minute inside it, she burst out again, screaming.

"What did she see?" Harry muttered with a raised brow.

"Hermione!" Lupin said, startled, "What's the matter?"

"P-P-Professor McGonagall!" Hermione gasped out in horror, pointing into the trunk, "S-She said I'd failed _everything_!"

"I wonder… Is that _really_ what she saw?" Byakuya said beside him with his own brow raised.

"Probably, but also probably not. She might have seen me and/or Ron getting attacked or something. I know she's been really worried about me, and about Ron as well. She also might have seen Buckbeak being killed, or being attacked by Professor Lupin on a full moon. We may never know." Harry said with a shrug as he watched his friends closely.

They were the closest thing he had to family, after all. Closer to family than his actual blood family…

It took a little while to calm Hermione down. When at last she had regained a grip on herself, she, Harry, and Ron went back to the castle. Ron was still slightly inclined to laugh at Hermione's Boggart, but an argument was averted by the sight that met them on the top of the steps.

Cornelius Fudge, sweating slightly in his pinstriped cloak, was standing there staring out at the grounds. He started at the sight of Harry. Harry raised a brow, especially when he noticed that Byakuya had gone missing.

"_Why is he here_?" Harry thought as he walked up to the Minister, feeling that he needed to be somewhat polite to the man.

"Hello there, Harry!" Fudge said, "Just had an exam, I expect? Nearly finished?"

"Yes." Harry said as Hermione and Ron, not being on speaking terms with the Minister of Magic, hovered awkwardly in the background.

"Lovely day." Fudge said, casting an eye over the lake, "Pity… pity…"

Fudge sighed deeply and looked down at Harry.

"I'm here on a rather unpleasant mission, Harry. The Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures required a witness to the execution of a mad Hippogriff. As I needed to visit Hogwarts to check on the Black situation, I was asked to step in."

"Does that mean the appeal's already happened?" Ron interrupted, stepping forward.

"No, no, it's scheduled for this afternoon." Fudge said, looking curiously at Ron.

"Then you might not have to witness an execution at all!" Ron said stoutly, "The Hippogriff might get off!"

Before Fudge could answer, two wizards came through the castle doors behind him. One was so ancient he appeared to be withering before their very eyes; the other was tall and strapping, with a thin back mustache. Harry gathered that they were representatives of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures, because the very old wizard squinted toward Hagrid's cabin and said in a feeble voice, "Dear, dear, I'm getting too old for this… Two o'clock, isn't it, Fudge?"

The black-mustached man was fingering something in his belt; Harry looked and saw that he was running one broad thumb along the blade of a shining axe. Ron opened his mouth to say something, but Hermione nudged him hard in the ribs and jerked her head toward the Entrance Hall.

"Why'd you stop me?" Ron said angrily as they entered the Great Hall for lunch, "Did you see them? They've even got the axe ready! This isn't justice!"

"Ron, your dad works for the Ministry, you can't go saying things like that to his boss!" said Hermione, but she too looked very upset, "As long as Hagrid keeps his head this time, and argues his case properly, they can't possibly execute Buckbeak…"

But Harry could tell Hermione didn't really believe what she was saying. All around them, people were talking excitedly as they ate their lunch, happily anticipating the end of the exams that afternoon, but Harry, Ron, and Hermione, who were lost in worry about Hagrid and Buckbeak, didn't join in.

Harry's and Ron's last exam was Divination; Hermione's was Muggle Studies. They walked up the marble staircase together; Hermione left them on the first floor and Harry and Ron proceeded all the way up to the seventh, where many of their class were sitting on the spiral staircase to Professor Trelawney's classroom, trying to cram in a bit of last-minute studying.

"She's seeing us all separately." Neville informed them as they went to sit down next to him. He had his copy of _Unfogging the Future_ open on his lap at the pages devoted to crystal gazing, "Have either of you ever seen anything in a crystal ball?" he asked them unhappily.

"Nope." Ron said in an offhand voice. He kept checking his watch; Harry knew that he was counting down the time until Buckbeak's appeal started.

The line of people outside the classroom shortened very slowly. As each person climbed back down the silver ladder, the rest of the class hissed, "What did she ask? Was it okay?"

But they all refused to say.

"She says the crystal ball's told her that if I tell you, I'll have a horrible accident!" Neville squeaked as he clambered back down the ladder toward Harry and Ron, who had now reached the landing.

"That's convenient." Ron snorted, "You know, I'm starting to think Hermione was right about her." Ron said as he jabbed his thumb toward the trapdoor overhead, "She's a right old fraud."

"Yeah…" said Harry, looking at his own watch. It was now two o'clock, "Wish she'd hurry up, though…"

Parvati came back down the ladder glowing with pride.

"She says I've got all the makings of a true Seer!" the girl informed Harry and Ron happily, "I saw loads of stuff… Well, good luck!"

She hurried off down the spiral staircase toward Lavender.

"Ronald Weasley… You are next in my vision…" said the familiar, misty voice from over their heads. Ron grimaced at Harry and climbed the silver ladder out of sight. Harry was now the only person left to be tested. He settled himself on the floor with his back against the wall, listening to a fly buzzing in the sunny window, his mind across the grounds with Hagrid.

Finally, after about twenty minutes, Ron's large feet reappeared on the ladder.

"How'd it go?" Harry asked him, standing up with a yawn.

"Rubbish." Ron said, "Couldn't see a thing, so I made some stuff up. Don't think she was convinced, though…"

"Meet you in the common room, then." Harry muttered as Professor Trelawney's voice called for him.

"Harry Potter! The last, and the first in my vision!"

"Coming, Byakuya? Soi Fon?" Harry asked as the two dropped on either side of him.

* * *

><p>The tower room was hotter than ever before; the curtains were closed, the fire was alight, and the usual sickly scent made Harry cough as he stumbled through the clutter of chairs and table to where Professor Trelawney sat waiting for him before a large crystal ball.<p>

"Good day, my dear." Trelawney said softly, "If you would kindly gaze into the Orb… Take your time, now… then tell me what you see within it…"

Harry bent over the crystal ball and stared, stared as hard as he could, willing it to show him something other than swirling white fog, but nothing happened.

"Well?" Professor Trelawney prompted delicately. "What do you see?"

The heat was overpowering and his nostrils were stinging with the perfumed smoke wafting from the fire beside them. He concentrated harder on the orb before him; on the white fog inside.

The white fog… the white fog… the fog… fog… f-

"_Harry, look out_!"

"_My Zanpakuto cuts you, and makes you doubt, Potter. That is it's power_."

"_I thought you loved me, Harry_!"

"You_ can call me Soi Fon, Harry… _only_ you_…"

"_I told you I'd make you pay, Potter_!Bankai!"

"_You've been living a double life! We thought you trusted us_!"

"_Never looked a gifted horse in the mouth, Harry my boy_."

"_It is against my honor to fight a child, Harry_."

"_You must accept the true justice of the world, Harry Potter! Now come with us or we will execute you and your friends_!"

"_Don't trust him, Harry! I love you! Luna loves you! Colin loves you! Draco love you! If he kills you, then we'll all die of broken hearts!"_

"_You should have listened to them, I'll never be accepted in their eyes…"_

"Harry Potter… Harry Potter. Mr. Potter!" Harry's eyes blinked quickly as Harry reared back from the orb. Trelawney was giving him an exceptional look of inisight,. Her enormous eyes gazing upon him intently.

"You have been… into the Beyond." Trelawney said as Harry took a few deep breaths, "You have seen that which can't be unseen. You have gazed upon the future with your Inner Eye, and with it you will now shape those events so that they come to pass!"

Harry didn't know what to say as Byakuya and Soi Fon patted his shoulders while giving him concerned look.

"Your friends may take you away now, my dear boy. You will need rest. I want to-"

Harry wanted to be gone from the classroom so quickly that he got up halfway through her talking. Picking up his bag and turned to go, Harry almost dashed from the room.

That was, until a loud, harsh voice spoke behind him.

"_**IT WILL HAPPEN TONIGHT**_!"

Harry wheeled around with wide eyes as he saw that Professor Trelawney had gone rigid in her armchair; her eyes unfocused, and her mouth sagging agape.

"S-Sorry?" Harry said as Byakuya and Soi Fon stopped beside him.

But Trelawney didn't seem to hear him. Her eyes started to roll. Harry went back to the table and sat there, waiting to see what would happen. She looked as though she was about to have some sort of seizure, but if she was, Harry knew not to catch her until she had already hit the ground. That was when he would prop her up and make sure she didn't swallow her tongue as Soi Fon and Byakuya would go racing for help.

As he was thinking about his conversation with Captain Unohana, Professor Trelawney spoke again, in the same harsh voice, quite unlike her own:

"_**THE DARK LORD LIES ALONE AND FRIENDLESS, ABANDONED BY HIS FOLLOWERS. HIS SERVANT HAS BEEN CHAINED THESE TWELVE YEARS. TONIGHT, BEFORE MIDNIGHT… THE SERVANT WILL BREAK FREE AND SET OUT TO REJOIN HIS MASTER. THE DARK LORD WILL RISE AGAIN WITH HIS SERVANT'S AID, GREATER AND MORE TERRIBLE THAN EVER HE WAS. TONIGHT… BEFORE MIDNIGHT… THE SERVANT… WILL SET OUT… TO REJOIN… HIS MASTER**_…"

Professor Trelawney's head fell forward onto her chest. She made a grunting sort of noise. Harry sat there, staring at her with a brow raised despite how terrified he truly was. Then, quite suddenly, Professor Trelawney's head snapped up again.

"I'm so sorry, dear boy." the normally dramatic woman said dreamily as though she were Luna Lovegood, "The heat of the day, you know… I drifted off for a moment… You and your friends here may go."

"Did she just…? And then the… But then…" Soi Fon kept babling out as Byakuya scoffed.

"Poor woman, she didn't even realize it. She's a sleeper, at least, that's what my Grandfather calls them from his old days." Byakuya said with his arms crossed as Harry continued to sit there, staring at Trelawney while trying to recall her exact words.

"Is there anything wrong, my dear?" Trelawney asked as Harry felt it was better to discuss the woman's prophecy with her than return to the common room.

"You… you just told me that t-the Dark Lord's going to rise again… that his servant's going to go back to him." Harry said slowly and patiently as Professor Trelawney looked thoroughly startled.

"The Dark Lord? He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named? My dear boy, that's hardly something to joke about… Rise again, indeed —" Harry felt this was no time for her to play dumb or be blind.

"But you _just_ said it! You said the Dark Lord —" but Trelawney interrupted him.

"I think you must have dozed off too, dear!" Professor Trelawney said, "I would certainly not presume to predict anything quite as far-fetched as that!"

"But you… Oh forget it." Harry said as he got back up and gathered his things. With one last look over his shoulder, he shook his head once again before climbing back down the ladder and the spiral staircase.

"I just heard that tart make a real prediction." Harry said, more to himself than his two Soul Reaper friends.

"Yeah, and she doesn't even know it herself." Byakuya reminded him as Harry sighed, running a hand through his hair.

"This is just great…" Harry muttered as he felt a gentle hand on his shoulder. He looked up to see Soi Fon gazed at him with an unusual emotion in her eyes that he couldn't place, but he knew he had seen it somewhere.

But where…

"Don't worry, Harry. I'm sure Mayuri can help you out, and we'll be here too. And so will all your friends if you let them. Remember, I'm- we're here for you. You… you don't have to do it alone." Soi Fon said as Harry hugged her, her face flushing for some reason. He hoped she wasn't getting sick on him.

"Thanks, Sui-Feng. That means a lot to hear." Harry said sincerely as her face went even redder.

"You can call me Soi Fon, Harry…" Soi Fon said quietly and meekly before she gave him a toughened look and scowl, "But only you. You got that, Potter."

"Yes, ma'am." Harry said as Byakuya was quietly chuckling on the other side of him, though Soi Fon still managed to rweach over and smack the Kuchiki family heir in the back of his head.

* * *

><p>Five minutes later, Harry couldn't wait to write everything down as he was dashing past the security trolls outside the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. Professor Trelawney's words were still resounding in his head. People were striding past him in the opposite direction, laughing and joking, heading for the grounds and a bit of long-awaited freedom; by the time he had reached the portrait hole and entered the common room, it was almost deserted. Over in the corner, however, sat Ron and Hermione while in front the fireplace sat Colin, who was scribbling something in his notepad.<p>

"Colin!" Harry called the mousy boy as said mousy boy quickly made his way in front of Harry.

"Yes, Harry. What can I do for you?" Colin asked as Harry saw the same sort of emotion in his eyes that he saw in Soi Fon's. He didn't bother with it, though as he asked the boy for a quill and sheet from the notepad. He quickly scribbled down Trelawney's words, and gave the note to Byakuya, who raced from the room in front of a surprised Colin.

"Who was that?" Colin asked as Harry shrugged.

"My errand boy." Harry answered as he spoke politely with Colin for a moment before the boy went to the library finish his musings.

Harry quickly made his way over to Ron and Hermione, planning to tell them everything he had learned from Trelawney.

"Professor Trelawney just told me —" But Harry stopped abruptly at a good sight of their faces. They looked like someone had just been sentenced to death…

Oh Merlin, no…

"Buckbeak lost…" Ron said weakly, "Hagrid's just sent this."

Hagrid's note was dry this time, no tears had splattered it, yet his hand seemed to have shaken so much as he wrote that it was hardly legible.

_**Lost appeal. They're going to execute at sunset. Nothing you can do. Don't come down. I don't want you to see it.**_

_**Hagrid**_

"We've got to go." Harry said at once, forgetting Trelawney and her message, "He can't just sit there on his own, waiting for the executioner!"

"Sunset, though." Ron said, who was staring out the window ill a glazed sort of way. "We'd never be allowed… 'specially you, Harry…"

Harry sank his head into his hands, thinking.

"If we only had the Invisibility Cloak…"

"Where is it?" said Hermione.

Harry told her about leaving it in the passageway under the one-eyed witch.

"… and Snape said that if he sees me anywhere near there again, I'm in serious trouble. He'll break my arms in six different places, seven if you count the shoulder." Harry finished.

"That's true…" Hermione said, not taking his last comment seriously as she was getting to her feet, "If he sees you… How do you open the witch's hump again?"

"You tap it and say, "Dissendium", but I don't see-" Harry said, but Hermione didn't wait for the rest of his sentence; she strode across the room, pushed open the Fat Lady's portrait and vanished from sight.

"She hasn't gone to get it? … has she…?" Ron said as he and Harry stared after her.

She had. Hermione returned a quarter of an hour later with the silvery cloak folded carefully under her robes.

"Hermione, I don't know what's gotten, into you lately!" Ron said, an astounded look upon his face as she strolled in, "First you hit that git Thestor, then you walk out on Professor Trelawney —"

Hermione looked rather flattered as a blush covered her cheeks. Harry only rolled his eyes mockingly as he muttered, "Get a room." under his breath.

"Prat." Hermione said to him as his own cheeks colored.

Apparently she had _really_ good hearing today…

* * *

><p>They went down to dinner with everybody else, but did not return to Gryffindor Tower afterward. Harry had the cloak hidden down the front of his robes; he had to keep his arms folded to hide the lump from view, especially Colin and Ginny's curious gazes. The trio skulked in an empty chamber off the entrance hall, listening, until they were sure it was deserted. They heard a last pair of people hurrying across the hall and a door slamming. Hermione poked her head around the door.<p>

"Okay." Hermione whispered, "No one's there; cloak on."

Walking very close together so that nobody would see them, they crossed the hall on tiptoe beneath the cloak, then walked down the stone front steps into the grounds. The sun was already sinking behind the Forbidden Forest, gilding the top branches of the trees.

They reached Hagrid's cabin and knocked. He was a minute in answering, and when he did, he looked all around for his visitor, pale-faced and trembling.

"It's us!" Harry hissed, "We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off."

"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispered, but he stood back, and they stepped inside. Hagrid shut the door quickly and Harry pulled off the cloak.

Hagrid was not crying, nor did he throw himself upon their necks. He looked like a man who did not know where he was or what to do. This helplessness was worse to watch than tears.

"Wan' some tea?" Hagrid asked as his great big hands were shaking when Harry saw him reaching for the kettle.

"Where… Where's Buckbeak, Hagrid?" Hermione asked hesitantly.

"I… I took him outside." Hagrid admitted, spilling milk all over the table as he filled up the jug, "He's tethered in me pumpkin patch. Thought he oughta see the trees a-an' smell fresh air before… before…"

Hagrid's hand trembled so violently that the milk jug slipped from his grasp and shattered all over the floor.

"I'll do it, Hagrid." Hermione said quickly, hurrying over and starting to clean up the mess.

"There's another one in the cupboard." Hagrid said, sitting down and wiping his forehead on his sleeve. Harry glanced at Ron, who looked back hopelessly.

"Isn't there anything anyone can do, Hagrid?" Harry asked fiercely, sitting down next to him, "Dumbledore-"

"He's tried…" Hagrid said somberly, "He's got no power ter overrule the Committee. He told 'em Buckbeak's all right, but they're scared… Yeh know what Lucius Malfoy's like… threatened 'em, I expect… an' the executioner, Macnair, he's an old pal o' Malfoy's… but it'll be quick an' clean… an' I'll be beside him…"

Hagrid swallowed ahrd. His eyes were darting all over the cabin as though looking for some shred of hope or comfort.

"Dumbledore's gonna come down while it… while it happens. Wrote me this mornin'. Said he wants t-ter be with me. Great man, that Dumbledore…"

Hermione, who had been rummaging in Hagrid's cupboard for another milk jug, let out a small, quickly stifled sob. She straightened up with the new jug in her hands, fighting back tears.

"We'll stay with you too, Hagrid-" Hermione began, but Hagrid shook his shaggy head.

"Yeh're ter go back up ter the castle. I told yeh, I don' wan' yeh watchin'. An' yeh shouldn' be down here anyway… If Fudge an' Dumbledore catch yeh out without permission, Harry, yeh'll be in big trouble."

Silent tears were now streaming down Hermione's face, but she hid them from Hagrid, bustling around making tea. Then, as she picked up the milk bottle to pour some into the jug, she let out a shriek.

"Ron, I don't believe it… it's Scabbers!"

Ron gaped at her as Harry raised a brow. So Scabbers had been alive all this time?

"What are you talking about?" Ron asked as he scowled at her. If it was her sick way of-

Hermione didn't let him finish his cruel thought as she carried the milk jug over to the table and turned it upside down. With a frantic squeak, and much scrambling to get back inside, Scabbers the rat came sliding out onto the table.

"Scabbers… Scabbers!" Ron said blankly, "Scabbers, what are you doing here?"

He grabbed the struggling rat and held him up to the light. Scabbers looked dreadful. He was thinner than ever, large tufts of hair had fallen out leaving wide bald patches, and he writhed in Ron's hands as though desperate to free himself. Harry raised a brow at the rat's panicky nature. Normally it was lazy and content, but was it Crookshanks attacks on it that had it so desperate to hide?

Somehow, Harry doubted it…

"It's okay, Scabbers!" said Ron. "No cats! There's nothing here to hurt you!"

Hagrid suddenly stood up, his eyes fixed on the window just as a small explosion was heard outside. Hagrid's normally ruddy face had gone the color of parchment.

"They're comin'…"

Harry, Ron, and Hermione whipped around as they too looked out the window. Just beyond the smoking pumpkin patch were a group of men was walking down the distant castle steps. In front was Headmaster of Hogwarts, Albus Dumbledore, his silver beard gleaming in the dying sun. Next to him trotted the Minister of Magic, Cornelius Fudge. Behind them came the feeble old Committee Member and the Executioner, Macnair.

"Yeh gotta go." Hagrid said, every inch of him trembling, "They mustn' find yeh here… Go now…"

Ron stuffed Scabbers into his pocket while Hermione picked up the cloak, "I'll let yeh out the back way." Hagrid said.

They followed him to the door into his back garden. Harry felt strangely unreal, and even more so when he saw Buckbeak a few yards away, tethered to a tree behind Hagrid's pumpkin patch. Buckbeak seemed to know something was happening. He turned his sharp head from side to side and pawed the ground nervously.

Harry gave Hermione a look and they both nearly chuckled a bit; he was sure that Buckbeak's attitude then, was because there were two of him and Hermione there.

"It's okay, Beaky." Hagrid said softly to the Hippogriff, "It's okay…"

Hagrid turned to Harry, Ron, and Hermione, looking unnaturally serious, "Go on." he said with a shooing motion, "Get goin'."

But they didn't move.

"Hagrid, we can't —"

"We'll tell them what really happened —"

"They can't kill him —"

"Go!" Hagrid said fiercely, "It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"

Harry was about to argue even further, but a weight on his shoulder stopped him. Even though he couldn't see it, he knew it was Soi Fon who was tugging at his sleeve for them to get going. And with that, they had no choice. While Hermione threw the cloak over Harry and Ron, they heard voices at the front of the cabin. Hagrid looked at the place where they had just vanished from sight.

"Go quick." Hagrid said hoarsely, "Don' listen…"

And he strode back into his cabin as someone knocked at the front door.

Slowly, in a kind of horrified trance, Harry, Ron, and Hermione set off silently around Hagrid's house. As they reached the other side, the front door closed with a sharp snap.

"Please, let's hurry." Hermione whispered, "I can't stand it, I can't bear it…"

They started up the sloping lawn toward the castle. The sun was sinking fast now; the sky had turned to a clear, purple-tinged gray, but to the west there was a ruby-red glow.

Ron stopped dead.

"Oh, please, Ron…" Hermione began.

"It's Scabbers. He won't stay put…"

Ron was bent over, trying to keep Scabbers in his pocket, but the rat was going berserk; squeaking madly, twisting and flailing, trying to sink his teeth into Ron's hand.

"Scabbers, it's me, you idiot. It's Ron." Ron hissed.

They heard a door open behind them and men's voices.

"Oh, Ron, please let's move, they're going to do it!" Hermione breathed out, and for the first time, Harry saw that Hermione was deeply disturbed by the thought of death. He himself couldn't say anything, especially after having befriended the dearly departed and was helping them protect Hogwarts.

"Okay Scabbers, stay put." Ron said, flicking his pocket lightly as the rat wiggled.

They walked forward; Harry, like Hermione, was trying not to listen to the rumble of voices behind them, but then Ron stopped again.

"I can't hold him. Scabbers, shut up, everyone'll hear us." Ron said as the rat was squealing wildly, but not loudly enough to cover up the sounds drifting from Hagrid's garden. There was a jumble of indistinct male voices, a silence, and then, without warning, the unmistakable swish and thud of an axe.

"They killed him…" Harry thought glumly, his eyes closing briefly in respect to the Hippogriff.

Oh was Draco getting some words tonight…!

Hermione swayed on the spot. Her face pale and her body trembling like Hagrid's had been earlier.

"They did it!" Hermione whispered to Harry, "I'd… I didn't think… I don't believe it… They _did_ it!"


	13. The Dog, Wolf, and Dragon Part 1

_**And here is the start of the final climax in this story. The story itself has about five to ten more chapters, but this will be the last big climax. It will have twists, turns, speed bumps, and loops that will leave some reeling and swooning.**_

_**It is this chapter that Harry comes face-to-face with Sirius Black, but all is not as it seems as other variable worm their way to the surface. But, we all knew that from the canon Harry Potter. What is the difference in my story that involves the Bleach Pre-Pendulum? Would you believe me if I said that it'd be the last thing you'd expect? Probably.**_

_**Expect the unexpected, see the expect, and never rule out a possibility. Especially when the next chapter comes.**_

_**Hope you enjoy.**_

**Chapter 13: The Dog, Wolf, and Dragon; Part 1**

* * *

><p>"Humph, such frugality and uncertain conditions… It shall never do if the Central 46 learns of this…" Head-Captain Shigekuni-Genryusai Yamamoto said as he stroked his magnificent beard.<p>

"Perhaps we could simply omit those parts from the-"

"No! Our honesty is our best chance of keeping them from the bureaucracy's grasp! I will not damage the integrity of this Society for anyone; not even for that boy and his people!" Yamamoto shouted, his fist slamming down onto the poor table which met it's demise. Jushiro merely sighed as Shunsui blinked.

That poor, poor table…

"Sui-Fung of the Second Division and Stealth Force. Byakuya Kuchiki of Academy Class 1-A, Advanced. Report to me your assessment of young Harry Potter." Yamamoto said as the two bowed in respect to the ancient Shinigami.

"Commander Yamamoto, Harry James Potter is an extremely brave, loyal, and selfless person who possesses tremendous strength of character." Soi Fon began as she and Byakuya kept their heads bowed, "He would willingly go to great lengths and take great risks in order to help others, particularly his loved ones and loyal friends. Harry is also very strong-willed, unafraid to stand up for himself and able to resist most illusionary and hypnotic Kido that Mayuri Kurotsuchi experimented with."

"Hmm… Byakuya Kuchiki, is there anything you'd like to add to this assessment?" Yamamoto asked, his voice now it's normal calm rumble as he regained his composure.

"Yes, sir, Captain-Commander." Byakuya said, raising his head to look upon his future leader, "I see Harry as someone who is struggling to do the right thing, who is not without faults, who acts impetuously as you would expect from someone of our age; being 13 years-old and all. But ultimately, he's a very loyal person, and a very _very_ courageous person. So, in as much as he has qualities that I- I mean, that _most_ can admire a lot, I would say he is a good role model for just about anyone. That doesn't mean that he is saintly, but then frankly, who is? Not even we of the Soul Society can claim perfection. But I think that once you see enough of Harry's inner life, the workings of his mind in his struggling to do the right thing… I think it'll be then that you see him… You'll see just how admirable I think he is." Byakuya said, bowing his head once more as the three aged Soul Reapers looked upon the two younger ones with small smiles.

"… You are dismissed…" Yamamoto said softly in thought as Soi Fon and Byakuya bowed in respect once more before leaving.

"Well now, I think we have some image to work with, given that from-the-heart tribute. Don't you think so too, Old Man Yama?" Shunsui said, laying his hat beside the cushion he was seated on as Yamamoto looked to be deeply in thought.

"Indeed we do, Shunsui… Indeed we do…" Yamamoto said, sighing uncharacteristically as he felt his age upon him.

Yes, he was getting to be mighty old…

* * *

><p>Harry's mind had gone blank with the shock. The three of them stood transfixed with horror under the Invisibility Cloak. The very last rays of the setting sun were casting a bloody light over the long-shadowed grounds. Then, behind them, they heard a wild howling.<p>

"Hagrid." Harry muttered, and without thinking about what he was doing, he made to turn back, but both Ron and Hermione seized his arms while dragging him away.

"Y-You have such a big heart, Harry…" Hermione said shakily as Ron nodded.

"Y-Yeah mate, real big, but we can't, Harry." Ron said, looking paper-white while he spoke, "Hagrid'll be in worse trouble if they know we've been to see him…"

Hermione's breathing was shallow and uneven. Harry had a feeling she was using her grip on him to hold her inner emotions all together.

But, her grip was slipping…

Harry put an arm on Hermione's shoulder, but as soon as he did, she buried her face into his chest.

"H-How… could t-they?" Hermione choked out, "H-How _could_ they?"

"Come on." Ron said shortly, the chattering of his teeth loud as Harry patted his friends' shoulders.

"We all have big hearts…" Harry muttered, sure that his friends had heard him since they hung their heads solemnly.

They set off back toward the castle, walking slowly to keep themselves hidden under the cloak while the light of day was fading quickly. By the time they reached open ground, darkness had settled like a spell all around them.

"Scabbers, keep still." Ron hissed, clamping his hand over his chest. The rat was wriggling madly as Ron came to a sudden halt, trying to force Scabbers deeper into his pocket, "What's the matter with you, you stupid rat? Stay still — OUCH! He bit me!"

"Ron, be quiet!" Hermione whispered urgently, "Fudge'll be out here in a minute —"

"He won't… stay… put…"

Scabbers was plainly terrified. He was writhing with all his might, trying to break free of Ron's grip. Harry wondered if he should just immobilize the poor creature using Kido, but decided against it.

He didn't need his friends asking questions.

"What's the matter with him?" Harry asked, but before the question had fully left his mouth, Harry saw.

Prowling toward them, his body low to the ground, his wide yellow eyes glinting eerily in the darkness was Crookshanks the Cheshire Cat (as Harry liked to call him in his mind). Whether he could see them or was simply following the sound of Scabbers' squeaks, Harry couldn't tell.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione moaned, "No, go away, Crookshanks! Go away!"

But the cat was getting nearer —

"Scabbers… NO!" Ron yelled, but it was too late. The wits-end scared rat had slipped between Ron's clutching fingers, hit the ground, and scampered away like his life was on the line (which it probably was). In one bound, Crookshanks sprang after him, and before Harry or Hermione could stop him, Ron had thrown the Invisibility Cloak off himself and pelted away into the darkness.

"Ron!" Hermione moaned loudly with a bit of annoyance as Harry fought to keep his thoughts clean of pervasion. Hermione could probably tell what he was thinking as she turned to him, her cheeks tinted pink while she scowled and pointed a finger threateningly at him.

"Shut up, and not one word." Hermione growled as Harry shrugged before they shared a look and sprinted off after their friend, what with it being impossible to run full-out while under the cloak.

Halfway they made the simple choice to pull it off before they hurtled after Ron, the cloak streaming behind them like a banner. They could hear Ron's feet thundering along the bare ground up ahead of them and his shouts at Crookshanks.

"Get away from him! Get away! Scabbers, come here!" came Ron's voice before they heard a loud thud.

"Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cat!"

Harry and Hermione almost fell over Ron; they skidded to a stop right in front of him. He was sprawled on the ground, but Scabbers was back in his pocket; he had both hands held tight over the quivering lump.

"Ron… come on b-back under the… c-cloak…" Hermione panted out with her hands on her knees as she doubled over, "Dumbledore… the Minister… t-they'll be coming b-back out in a minute… Christ, I'm not made for t-this…"

"Who's Chris?" Ron asked as Harry brought up the cloak.

But before they could cover themselves again, before they could even catch their breath, they heard the soft pounding of gigantic paws… Something was bounding toward them, quiet as a shadow. And then, much to their surprise (Harry's even more so) there was an enormous, pale-eyed, jet-black dog advancing upon them with amazing speed.

Harry reached for his wand, but too late; the dog had made an enormous leap and the front paws had hit him square in the chest; he keeled over backwards in a whirl of hair; he felt its hot breath, and saw inch-long teeth.

But the force of the Grim's leap had carried it too far; the spectral hound rolled off him.

Harry got to his feet fairly quick, though feeling a bit dazed, as though his ribs were broken. He could hear the dog's growling as it skidded around for a new attack. Just as Harry made to rush forward and face his given fear, Ron was on his feet and in front of him. As the dog sprang back toward them Ron pushed Harry aside and the dog's jaws fastened around Ron's outstretched arm. Harry, though shocked by his friend's actions, lunged forward instinctively, seizing a handful of the mutt's hair.

But it was for not as the dog began dragging Ron away as easily as though he were a rag doll. Just as Harry lunged again, something, out of nowhere, hit Harry so hard across the face that he was knocked off his feet again and through the air only to have a painful embrace with the grassy green grounds. He heard Hermione shriek with pain and fall somewhere near him as well.

Harry groped for his wand, blinking blood out of his eyes as he held it steadily. The pain was nothing new, but he was sure that Snape was nowhere around to be backhanding him.

"_**Lumos**_!" Harry whispered loudly as the magically-induced light showed him the trunk of a thick tree; a familiar tree.

They had chased Scabbers and Crookshanks into the shadow of the Whomping Willow and its branches were creaking as though in a high wind, whipping backward and forward to stop them from going any nearer.

And there! At the base of the trunk, was the dog, dragging Ron backward into a large gap in the roots! Ron was fighting furiously, but his head and torso were slipping out of sight —

"Ron!" Harry shouted, trying to follow, but in his panic for his friend, he had forgotten the deadly tree. That was, until a heavy branch whipped lethally through the air and hit him in the chest, forcing him back again.

As Harry and Hermione collected themselves, all they could see now was one of Ron's legs, which he had hooked around a root in an effort to stop the dog from pulling him farther underground, but a horrible crack cut the air like a gunshot. Harry winced as he was positive Ron's leg had broken, and a moment later, his foot vanished from their sight.

"Harry! We've got to go for help —" Hermione gasped; she was bleeding too; the Willow having cut her across the shoulder.

"No! That thing's big enough to eat him; we haven't got time—"

"Harry, we're never going to get through without help—"

Another branch whipped down at them, twigs clenched like knuckles.

"If that dog can get in, than so can we." Harry said firmly before darting here and there, trying to find a way through the vicious, swishing branches, but he couldn't get an inch nearer to the tree roots without being in range of the tree's blows and leaving Hermione (who as far as he knew had no experience with such dangers) behind to deal with the Willow herself.

"Oh, help, help, help…" Hermione whispered frantically, dancing uncertainly on the spot, "Please…"

Crookshanks darted forward. He slithered between the battering branches like a snake and placed his front paws upon a knot on the trunk. Abruptly, as though the tree had been turned to marble, it stopped moving. Not a leaf twitched or shook.

"Move it! Now!" Crookshanks shouted as Hermione blinked in surprise. Whether it was because her cat had spoken or because it stopped the branch that had been mere seconds from smashing her into the ground, Harry wasn't sure.

"Crookshanks!" Hermione whispered uncertainly as she grasped at Harry's arm painfully hard. He never knew she was _that_ strong, "How did he know—?"

"He's friends with that dog." Harry said grimly as he kept his eyes on the cat, "I've seen them together. Come on… and keep your wand out."

They covered the distance to the trunk in seconds, but before they had reached the gap in the roots, Crookshanks had slid into it with a flick of his bottlebrush tail. Harry went next; he crawled forward, headfirst, and slid down an earthy slope to the bottom of a very low tunnel.

Crookshanks was a little way along, his eyes flashing in the light from Harry's wand. Seconds later, Hermione had come slithering down beside him.

"W-Where's Ron?" Hermione whispered in a terrified voice.

"This way." Harry said, setting off, bent-backed, after Crookshanks.

"Where does this tunnel come out?" Hermione asked breathlessly from behind him. Harry frowned, having his suspicions, but choosing to keep them to himself.

"I don't know… It's marked on the Marauder's Map, but Fred and George said no one's ever gotten into it… It goes off the edge of the map, but it looked like it was heading for Hogsmeade…"

They moved as fast as they could, bent almost double; ahead of them, Crookshanks's tail bobbed in and out of view. On and on went the passage; it felt at least as long as the one to Honeydukes… All Harry could think of was Ron and what the enormous dog might be doing to him… He was drawing breath in sharp, painful gasps, running at a crouch… He wanted to flash-step as fast as he could, but then…

… What if something happened to Hermione in his haste?

Harry extinguished his thoughts as the tunnel began to rise; moments later it twisted, and Crookshanks had gone. Ahead Harry could see a patch of dim light through a small opening.

He and Hermione paused, the latter gasping for breath while they edging forward. Both raised their wands to see what lay beyond.

It was a room. A very disordered and dusty room, but a room none the less. Paper was peeling from the walls; there were stains all over the floor; every piece of furniture was broken as though somebody had smashed it. The windows were all boarded up.

Harry glanced at Hermione, who looked very frightened but nodded.

Harry pulled himself out of the hole, staring around; his suspicions being confirmed. The room was deserted, but a door to their right stood open, leading to a shadowy hallway. Hermione suddenly grabbed Harry's arm again. Her wide eyes were traveling around the boarded windows.

"Harry…" Hermione whispered in his ear, "I think we're in the Shrieking Shack."

Harry looked around. His eyes fell on a wooden chair near them. Large chunks had been torn out of it; one of the legs had been ripped off entirely. Deciding to replace his sarcasm of the proven guess with another, Harry jabbed a finger in the chair's direction.

"Well, ghosts certainly didn't do that." Harry said as Hermione gasped.

At that moment, there was a creak overhead; something had moved upstairs. Both Harry and Hermione looked up at the ceiling, Hermione's grip on his arm was so tight Harry was starting to lose feeling in his fingers.

He raised a brows at her before she blushed and nodded again, letting go.

"Sorry…" Hermione mutter as they quietly (as they could) crept out into the hall and up the crumbling staircase.

"No problem…" Harry muttered back as he glanced about. Everything was covered in a thick layer of dust except for the floor, where a wide shiny stripe had been made by something being dragged upstairs.

They had reached the dark landing.

"_**Nox**_." the two whispered together as the lights at the end of their wands went out. Only one door was open and, as they crept toward it, they heard movement from behind it; a low moan, and then a deep, loud purring. They exchanged a last look, a last nod.

* * *

><p>This was it. With his wand held tightly before him, Harry kicked the door wide open.<p>

On a magnificent four-poster bed with dusty hangings lay Crookshanks, purring loudly at the sight of them like some television evil mastermind which was expecting them to fall into his trap, which Harry was sure the whole thing was.

However, it was what was on the floor beside him that made Harry not care; trap or not. There, clutching at his leg, which stuck out at a strange angle, was Ron.

Harry and Hermione dashed across to him faster than any in the room could follow.

"Ron a-are you okay?" Hermione asked as Harry gripped his wand tightly, glancing about in anger.

"Where's the dog?" Harry asked as Ron finally looked up at him, looking a bit paler than usual.

"Not a dog…" Ron moaned, his teeth gritted with pain, "Harry… It's a trap!"

"What? I knew that!" Harry replied as Ron blinked.

"He's the dog, Harry… He's an Animagus!" Ron said, staring over Harry's shoulder.

Harry didn't even turn as he felt his teeth and hands clench.

"Sirius… Black…" Harry said slowly and clearly as he slowly turned around. With a snap, the man in the shadows closed the door behind them.

A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If eyes hadn't been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin.

It was Sirius Black… and he had Ron's wand pointed at them. This was it. He was gonna kill-

"_**Expelliarmus**_!" Black croaked, pointing Ron's wand at them.

Harry's and Hermione's wands shot out of their hands, high in the air, and Black caught them. Then he took a step closer. His eyes were fixed on Harry.

"I thought you'd come and help your friend." Sirius Black said hoarsely, as though he had long since lost the habit of using it, "Your father would have done the same for me. Brave of you not to run for a teacher. I'm grateful… it will make everything much easier…"

Without knowing what he was doing, he started forward, but there was a sudden movement on either side of him and two pairs of hands grabbed him and held him back…"No, Harry!" Hermione gasped in a petrified whisper.

The taunt about his father rang in Harry's ears as though Black had bellowed it. A boiling hate erupted in Harry's chest, leaving no place for fear. For the first time in his life, he wanted his wand back in his hand, not to defend himself, but to attack… to hurt and possible… kill?

No, that wasn't him. He was no longer one to give into senseless anger. He was calmer, he was wiser, he was more rational. Besides, with Black having not struck him dead yet, there was a reason not to doing the striking himself…

As he had thought before, things were not all as they seemed…

Ron, however, spoke to Black first.

"If you want to kill Harry, you'll have to kill us too!" Ron declared fiercely, though the effort of standing upright was draining him of still more color, and he swayed slightly as he spoke.

Something flickered in Black's shadowed eyes. Like a sort of recognition to some lost forgotten memory, "Lie down…" Black said quietly to Ron, not looking the ginger in the eyes, "You will damage that leg even more."

"D-Did you hear me?" Ron said weakly, though he was clinging painfully to Harry to stay upright, "You'll have to kill all three of us!"

"There'll be only one murder here tonight." Black said, and his mouth formed a grin which widened. It seemed so natural to the man, or would have if he didn't look so… haughtily…

"Why's that?" Harry said calmly, wrenching himself free of Ron, and Hermione, "You've killed before, haven't you? Or is it that you didn't care last time? I've heard of what you did. You slaughtered 13 Muggles to get at Peter Pettigrew. What's the matter, gone soft in Azkaban?"

"Har-… Harry!" Hermione whimpered, in complete shock of him, "Be quiet!"

"He's the reason my Mum and Dad are dead! He just as well killed them!" Harry roared, some part of him that he couldn't control wanting to blame something that wasn't a complete monster; something that wasn't Voldemort.

With a much smaller amount of effort they it looked, Harry broke free of Hermione's and Ron's hold on him and lunged forward —

He had forgotten about magic. He had forgotten about Kido. He had forgotten every combat skill and instinct that Snape had beaten into his mind. He had even forgotten that he was 13 year-old pubescent teen, whereas Black was a full-grown man. All of this lost to him as all Harry knew was that he wanted to hurt Black- somebody, anybody- as badly as he could and that he didn't care how much he got hurt in return —

Perhaps it was the shock of Harry doing something so stupid or the amusement of such, but Black didn't raise the wands an inch from his side. One of Harry's hands fastened over his wasted wrist, forcing the wand tips away; the knuckles of Harry's other hand (which was tightly formed in a fist) collided with the side of Black's head and they both fell backward into the wall.

Hermione was screaming, Ron was yelling, and there was a blinding flash as the wands in Black's hand sent a jet of sparks into the air that had missed Harry's face by inches.

Thankfully, he did remember how to dodge.

Harry felt the shrunken arm under his fingers twisting madly, but he clung on, his other hand punching every part of Black it could find.

Dear Deity, did it feel good to get out all of his teenage angst on a person he didn't need to feel sorry for.

But in those thoughts, Black's free hand had found Harry's throat.

"No!" Black hissed, "I've waited too long —"

The fingers tightened, Harry choked, his glasses askew. Then Black gasped, his fingers slacking as he blinked owlishly at Harry when the teen choked.

"I... I'm... I'm sor-" Sirius Black stammered out, but before he could finish they both saw Hermione's foot coming out of nowhere. Black let go of Harry with a grunt of pain as he used his leg to block Hermione's kick. Then there was even more trouble as Ron threw himself on Black's wand hand.

Harry heard a faint clatter as he fought free of the tangle of bodies, seeing his own wand rolling across the floor; he threw himself toward it but

"No, you fool!" a deep voice said over Harry.

"Argh, dammit…" Harry hissed in pain as Crookshanks joined the fray; a set of front claws sunken deeply into Harry's arm while the ginger cat sat there like he was simply patting Harry. Harry threw the intellectual feline off, but Crookshanks flipped through the air and landed up right on his feet with the greatest of ease. As soon as the cat's paws had touched the ground, Crookshanks had gone darting toward Harry's wand—

"No you don't, dammit!" Harry roared, aiming a Kido at Crookshanks, but before the spell had even left his lips, the cat leap aside, spitting as Harry snatched up his wand and turned.

"Get out of the way!" Harry shouted at Ron and Hermione.

"Fool, don't! Let us explain!"

But Harry didn't listen, and his friends didn't need telling twice. Hermione, gasping for breath and her lip bleeding, scrambled aside while snatching up her and Ron's wands. Ron crawled to the four-poster and collapsed onto it, panting, his white face now tinged with green and both hands clutching his broken leg.

Black was sprawled at the bottom of the wall. His thin chest rose and fell rapidly as he watched Harry walking slowly nearer, his wand pointing straight at Black's heart.

"Are you going to kill me, Harry?" Black whispered as Harry stopped right above him, his wand still pointing at Black's chest while he looked down at the man. A livid bruise was rising around Black's left eye and his nose was bleeding.

"You are suspected of having killed my parents." Harry said calmly, though he knew his voice was shaking slightly while his wand hand was quite steady.

Black stared up at him out of those sunken eyes, meeting his gaze .

"But if you knew the whole story…" Black said very quietly as Harry felt his heart beat quicken and a furious pounding in his ears.

"The whole story?" Harry repeated, a furious pounding in his chest as he fought to stay calm. For some reason he could not control, having the man in front of him; the man said to be the reason his parents were dead, it made Harry's blood boil far worst than most things, "You're said to have sold them to Voldemort. If that's the truth, then it's all I need to know."

"You've got to listen to me." Black said, and there was a note of urgency in his voice now, "You'll regret it if you don't… You don't understand…"

"I understand a lot better than you think; than most people think!" Harry said, and his voice shook more than ever with his fury. He was so tired of people questioning what he could and couldn't understand, what he needed to know, what he could know about himself! He was sick of it! All of it! Every bit of it, "You never heard her, did you? My mum… trying to stop Voldemort from killing me… and they say you did that… that you, my own Godfather, had done it…"

Before either of them could say another word, something ginger streaked past Harry; Crookshanks leapt onto Black's chest and settled himself there, right over Black's heart. Black blinked and looked down at the cat.

"Get off!" Harry yelled, but Crookshanks looked him squarely in the eyes with those great yellow ones while sinking his claws into Black's robes. To Harry's left, Hermione gave a dry sob.

"So that is how you wish for it to be?" Harry said solemnly, his grip tightening on his wand, "You wish to die with him should I strike him dead…? And I had thought better of you… But here you are, in league with Black and all… Well then, if you're was prepared to die, trying to protect Black, that isn't my business."

"Just listen to us, you fool!" Crookshanks deep voice roared as Hermione and Ron gawked. Harry didn't care, however, as he glared at the ginger feline, "This isn't a game! More lives are at stack than you think. Quit being a child and grow up!"

Harry felt his control on his spiritual pressure slip in his fury at Crookshanks' words. How dare he!

"I have grown up, you stupid cat! I'm so tired of everyone telling when I should be a kid! When I should grow up! What to do! What to know! What to think! I'm sick of it! Do you hear me?" Harry bellowed as Crookshanks sat calmly, his gaze never leaving Harry's, "Each and every one of you has told me what I should be and how I should act! It's my choice! When do I get it! I'm not a damn puppet!"

"Then make your choice." Crookshanks said and raised his chin proudly as Harry raised the wand.

Now was the moment to do it. Now was the moment to avenge his mother and father. He was going to kill Black. He had to kill Black. This was his chance…

The seconds lengthened. And still Harry stood frozen there, wand poised, Black staring up at him, Crookshanks on his chest doing the same. Ron's ragged breathing came from near the bed; Hermione was quite silent.

"I make my own choices… and I decide what to do… Today, I decide that he lives…" Harry said slowly and surely as he lowered his wand. The silence of the room seemed to stretch on afterward while Crookshanks was practically beamed up at him. The others were probably still in too much shock to do anything but gape at him not taking the shot.

Then came a new sound. The sound of muffled footsteps, which were echoing up through the floor alerting them to the fact that someone was moving downstairs.

"WE'RE UP HERE!" Hermione screamed suddenly as they all turned to her, "WE'RE UP HERE WITH SIRIUS BLACK! COME QUICKLY!"

Black made a startled movement that almost dislodged Crookshanks; Harry gripped his wand convulsively.

"_Do it now_!" a voice in his head said.

This voice didn't belong to his Zanpakuto… So what the hell was it…?

But as the footsteps were thundering up the stairs, Harry still hadn't done it.

* * *

><p>The door of the room burst open in a shower of red sparks and Harry wheeled around as Professor Lupin came hurtling into the room, his face bloodless, his wand raised and ready. His eyes flickered over Ron, lying on the floor, over Hermione, cowering next to the door, to Harry, standing there with his wand covering Black, and then to Black himself, crumpled and bleeding at Harry's feet.<p>

"_**Expelliarmus**_!" Lupin shouted as Harry's wand flew once more out of his hand; so did the two Hermione was holding. Lupin caught them all deftly before he moved into the room while staring at Sirius Black, who still had Crookshanks lying protectively across his chest.

Harry stood there, feeling suddenly empty. He hadn't done it. His nerve had failed him. Black was going to be handed back to the Dementors.

Then Lupin spoke, in a very tense voice, "Where is he, Sirius?"

Harry looked quickly at Lupin. He didn't understand what Lupin meant. Who was Lupin talking about? He turned to look at Black again.

Black's face was quite expressionless. For a few seconds, he didn't move at all. Then, very slowly, he raised his empty hand and pointed straight at Ron. Mystified, Harry glanced around at Ron, who looked bewildered.

"But then…" Lupin muttered, staring at Black so intently it seemed he was trying to read his mind, "Why hasn't he shown himself before now? Unless…" Lupin's eyes suddenly widened, as though he was seeing something beyond Black, something none of the rest could see, "Unless he was the one… unless you switched… without telling me… without telling anyone?"

Very slowly, his sunken gaze never leaving Lupin's face, Black nodded.

"Professor… Professor… Lupin!" Harry interrupted loudly, "What's going on—?"

But Harry never finished the question, because what he saw made his voice die in his throat. Lupin was lowering his wand, gazing fixedly at Black. The Professor walked to Black's side, seized his hand, and pulled him to his feet so that Crookshanks dropped to his feet on the floor gracefully while Lupin embraced Black like a brother.

Harry felt as though the bottom had dropped out of his stomach. With Lupin not harming Black, that meant Black-

"I DON'T BELIEVE IT!" Hermione screamed as everyone whipped around to her.

"Why are you the one so mad?" Harry muttered despite himself as Lupin let go of Black and turned to her.

Hermione had raised herself off the floor and was pointing at Lupin, wild-eyed, "You… You…"

"Hermione —"

"You and him!"

"Hermione, calm down —"

"I didn't tell anyone!" Hermione shrieked as Harry found his brow rising and Ron looking between Lupin and Hermione wildly, "I've been covering up for you!"

Ron and Harry looked at each other. The two teenage boys exchanged a look which confirmed they were thinking along the same lines with the way the conversation was progressing.

And to be quite honest, Harry couldn't say he'd be surprised by too much else right then.

"Hermione, listen to me, please!" Lupin shouted, "I can explain —"

"Harry trusted you!" Hermione shouted at Lupin, her voice wavering, out of control, "And all the time you've been his friend!"

"You're wrong." Lupin said, "I haven't been Sirius's friend, but I am now… Listen, please just listen. Let me explain-"

"NO!" Hermione screamed, "Harry, don't trust him, he's been helping Black get into the castle, he wants you dead too. He's… he's… he's…"

"A werewolf." Harry stated, cutting off Hermione's stuttering words. Following his rather deadpanned words, there was a ringing silence. Everyone's eyes were now on Lupin, who looked remarkably calm, though rather pale.

"Not at all up to your usual standard, Hermione." Lupin said calmly with a shake of his head before he turned to Harry, "And I'm not sure how you figured it out, Harry, but you're right. However, that's only one out of three, I'm afraid. I have not been helping Sirius get into the castle and I certainly don't want you dead, Harry." An odd shiver passed over his face, "But… I won't deny that I am a werewolf."

Ron made a valiant effort to get up again but fell back with a whimper of pain. Lupin made toward him, looking concerned, but Ron gasped, "Get away from me, werewolf!"

Lupin stopped dead. Then, with an obvious effort, he turned to Hermione with a quick glance at Harry and said, "How long have you two known?"

"Ages." Hermione whispered, "Since I did Professor Snape's essay…"

"He'll be delighted then." Lupin said coolly. "He assigned that essay hoping someone would realize what my symptoms meant… And you, Harry?"

"The Boggart, and then when I was doing charts for Astronomy. But even before that, it was the essay…" Harry muttered, "I don't care about your being a werewolf. I'm sure Dumbledore knows if Snape does." Harry said before he went into thought, "_That was why Dumbledore had gotten angry when Black had gotten into the castle and why Snape had brought up someone being untrustworthy_. _Now that it's confirmed, it all makes sense_."

Lupin forced a laugh as he turned to Hermione.

"You're the cleverest witch of your age I've ever met, Hermione Granger. And you Harry, you're on a stage all your own."

"I'm not…" Hermione whispered as Harry sighed, "If I'd been a bit cleverer, I'd have told everyone what you are!"

"But they already know." Lupin said with a stiff shrug Harry was sure his Professor had done to seem more causal, "At least, the staff do."

"Dumbledore hired you when he knew you were a werewolf?" Ron gasped, "Is he mad?"

"Some of the staff thought so." Lupin replied with another stiff shrug, "He had to work very hard to convince certain teachers that I'm trustworthy; especially Snape."

"And he was wrong." Harry pointed out calmly as everyone turned to him, "Here you are helping him." Harry finished as he pointed at Black, who suddenly crossed to the four-poster bed and sank onto it, his face hidden in one shaking hand. Crookshanks leapt up beside him and stepped onto his lap, purring. Ron edged away from both of them, dragging his leg.

"True, but I have not been helping Sirius before this very moment." Lupin said, "If you'll give me a chance, I'll explain. Look, here."

Lupin separated Harry's, Ron's and Hermione's wands before he threw each back to its owner.

Harry caught his, just as stunned as his friends.

"There." Lupin said calmly, sticking his own wand back into his belt, "You're armed, we're not. Now will you listen?"

Harry didn't know what to think. Was it a trick?

Before anyone could move, Harry shoved his wand into his robe pocket and outstretched his hands toward both Black and Lupin.

"_**Bakudo #4: Hainawa**_!" Harry said so quickly and cast so suddenly that even Crookshanks was hard pressed to move out of the way before the two full-grown wizards found their arms and torso bound by crackling yellow energy ropes.

Lupin and Sirius looked down in surprise as Crookshanks landed on the dusty floor, looking up at Harry while his tail flickered back and forth.

"You've improved a great deal… Had you not made such a sudden movement, even I would have been caught…" the cat mused as Harry glared while his friends gaped.

"You and I will talk about this later. As for you." Harry said, pointing an accusing finger at Lupin, "If you haven't been helping… _him…"_ Harry said with a furious glance at Black, "then how did you know he was here?"

"The map." Lupin said, regaining his calm, "The Marauder's Map. I was in my office examining it—"

"You know how to work it? How? No, let me guess. You turn into a werewolf on the full moon, so then… Hello, Mr. Moony." Harry said as Lupin looked a bit embarrassed.

"That's not the important thing here, Harry. The important thing is that I was watching it carefully this evening, because I had an idea that you, Ron, and Hermione might try and sneak out of the castle to visit Hagrid before his Hippogriff was executed. And I was right, wasn't I?"

He had started to pace up and down, looking at them, kicking up little patches of dust that rose at his feet. Even with his arms bound to his sides, Lupin still had an aura about him that said using a wand and his arms were the only things he was good at.

"You might have been wearing your father's old cloak, Harry—"

"How do you know about the cloak?" Harry asked, his eyes narrowed even though he already had an idea with Lupin having been friends with his father.

"The number of times I saw James disappearing under it…" Lupin said, wiggling his hand at his side as though he wanted to be waving the appendage impatiently.

"The point is, even if you're wearing an Invisibility Cloak, you still show up on the Marauder's Map. I watched you cross the grounds and enter Hagrid's hut. Twenty minutes later, you left Hagrid, and set off back toward the castle. But you were now accompanied by somebody else."

"Huh? Wait, what?" Harry said, now thoroughly confused, "No, we weren't."

"I couldn't believe my eyes…" said Lupin, still pacing, and ignoring Harry's interruption, "I thought the map must be malfunctioning. How could he be with you?"

"No one was with us!" Harry yelled as Lupin continued on as though Harry had suddenly gone mute.

"And then I saw another dot, moving fast toward you, labeled "Sirius Black"… I saw him collide with you; I watched as he pulled two of you into the Whomping Willow—"

"One of us!" Ron said angrily because Lupin was ignoring Harry and all of them.

"No, Ron; two of you." Lupin said as he had stopped his pacing and his eyes moved over Ron, "Do you think I could have a look at the rat?" Lupin said evenly as Ron went wide-eyed.

"What?" Ron said, "What's Scabbers got to do with it?"

"Everything." Lupin said quite firmly, "Could I see him, please?"

Ron hesitated, then put a hand inside his robes. Scabbers emerged, thrashing desperately; Ron had to seize his long bald tail to stop him escaping. Crookshanks stood up on Black's leg and made a soft hissing noise.

Lupin moved closer to Ron. He seemed to be holding his breath as he gazed intently at Scabbers.

"What?" Ron said again, holding Scabbers close to him, looking scared, "What's my rat got to do with anything?"

"That's not a rat." Sirius Black croaked suddenly from his spot at the edge of the bed.

"What d'you mean? Of course he's a rat, he's —"

"No, he's not." Lupin said quietly, "He's a wizard."

"An Animagus." Black said, standing to his feet, "An Animagus by the name of… Peter Pettigrew."

* * *

><p>It took a few seconds for the absurdity of this statement to sink in.<p>

Then Ron voiced what Harry was thinking.

"You're both mental."

Okay… what Harry was sort of thinking…

"Ridiculous!" Hermione said faintly as Lupin gave her a deadpan expression.

"We're not Boggarts…"

"Maybe, but Peter Pettigrew is _dead_, which is also true." Harry said as he jabbed a thumb in Black's direction, "_He_ made sure of that 12 years ago by killing Pettigrew."

"I _meant_ to." Black growled, his yellow teeth bared, "But little Peter got the better of me… not this time, though!"

And even with the Bakudo spell still tightly confiding him, Black lunged savagely at Scabbers as Ron yelled with pain when Black's weight fell on his broken leg.

"Sirius, no!" Lupin yelled, and with a sudden burst of power, had broken the Bakudo and launched himself forward, dragging Black away from Ron, "Wait! You can't do it just like that. They need to understand. We've got to explain this —"

"We can explain afterwards!" Black snarled as he too broke Harry's Bakudo with a sudden burst of concentrated power, trying to throw Lupin off. One hand started clawing the air as it tried to reach Scabbers, who was squealing like a piglet, scratching Ron's face and neck as he tried to escape.

"They've… got… a right… to know… everything!" Lupin panted, still trying to restrain Black while Harry could feel just how low the man's spirit energy had went from escaping his binding spell, "Ron's kept him as a pet! There are parts of it even I don't understand, and Harry… you owe Harry the truth, Sirius!"

Black stopped struggling, though his hollowed eyes were still fixed on Scabbers, who was clamped tightly under Ron's bitten, scratched, and bleeding hands.

"All right, then." Black said, without taking his eyes off the rat, "Tell them whatever you like. But make it quick, Remus. I want to commit the murder I was imprisoned for…"

"You're nutters, both of you." Ron said shakily, looking around at Harry and Hermione for support, "I think we've had enough of this. We're off."

Ron tried to heave himself up on his good leg, but Lupin simply took out his wand again, pointing it at Scabbers. Harry was about to raise his hand, when he flinched as Crookshanks sank his claws into him as a warning; a warning not to interfere.

"You're going to hear me out, Ron." Lupin said quietly, "Just keep a tight hold on Peter while you listen."

"He is not Peter Pettigrew! He's Scabbers!" Ron yelled, trying to force the rat back into his front pocket, but Scabbers was fighting too hard; Ron swayed and overbalanced as Harry quickly got to his side past Lupin to catch him. Harry sighed as he gently pushed Ron back down to the bed, and then, ignoring Black, Harry turned to Lupin with a serious look.

"There were witnesses who saw Pettigrew die." Harry said carefully, "A whole street full of them…"

"They didn't see what they thought they saw! They were Muggles!" Black said savagely, still watching Scabbers as the rat struggled in Ron's hands.

"Everyone thought Sirius killed Peter." Lupin said with a nod as he too ignored Sirius Black, "I believed it myself, too. That was, until I saw the map tonight. Because the Marauder's Map never lies… Peter's alive. Ron's holding him, Harry."

Harry looked down at Ron, and as their eyes met, they both silently agreed: Black and Lupin were both out of their minds. Their story made no sense whatsoever as Harry tried to work it out. How could Scabbers be Peter Pettigrew? Harry simply decided that Azkaban must have unhinged Black after all.

But then… why was Lupin playing along with him?

Then Hermione spoke, in a trembling, would-be calm sort of voice, as though trying to will Professor Lupin to talk sensibly, "But Professor Lupin… Scabbers can't be Pettigrew… it just can't be true, you know it can't…"

"Why can't it be true?" Lupin said calmly, as though they were in class, and Hermione had simply spotted a problem in an experiment with Grindylows.

"Because… because people would know if Peter Pettigrew had been an Animagus. We did Animagi in class with Professor McGonagall. And I looked them up when I did my homework. The Ministry of Magic keeps tabs on witches and wizards who can become animals; there's a register showing what animal they become, and their markings, and other things as well… and I went and looked Professor McGonagall up on the register, and there have been only seven Animagi this century, and Pettigrew's name wasn't on the list."

Harry had barely had time to marvel inwardly at the effort Hermione put into her homework, when Lupin started to laugh.

"You do cover a bit much, don't you think?" Black said as he glanced over at Hermione. Harry could tell though, that the man was trying not to sound critical of her.

"I like to be thorough." Hermione said timidly with a stiff shrug.

"Regardless, you're right again, Hermione!" Lupin said brightly as he twirled his wand, "But the Ministry never knew that there used to be three unregistered Animagi running around Hogwarts."

"If you're going to tell them the story, get a move on, Remus." Black said, only sparing a glance at the Professor before he went right back to watching Scabbers' every desperate move, "I've waited twelve years, I'm not going to wait much longer."

"All right… but you'll need to help me, Sirius." Lupin said, "I only know how it began-"

Lupin broke off as a loud creak behind him made all five stare at the bedroom door as it opened of its own accord. Lupin strode toward the door and looked out into the landing while Harry stiffened at the familiar spiritual pressure that had entered the room.

The bastard had on his cloak! Now Harry would need to wash it, if not _burn_ the thing…

"This place is haunted!" Ron said, clearly spooked.

"No, it's not." Sirius Black said with a sigh and a quick glance about before he went back to Scabbers' watch, "I have a bad feeling about this."

"Great, now we're doing _Star Wars_ quotes…" Harry muttered, unheard by the others.

"It's not haunted, Ron." Lupin said, still looking at the door in a puzzled way, "The Shrieking Shack was never haunted… The screams and h-howls the villagers used to hear were made by… they were made by me."

Lupin pushed his graying hair out of his eyes, thinking for a moment before he spoke again in a somber tone, "That's where all of this starts… with my becoming a werewolf. None of this could have happened if I hadn't been bitten… and if I hadn't been so foolhardy…" Lupin said, looking so sober and tired. Ron started to interrupt, but Hermione and Harry turned to him.

"Shh!" they said as they watched Lupin very intently. Hey, they were both brought up in the Muggle World, they loved to hear stories about werewolves and such! Ron only rolled his eyes at his friends interest in the sobbing back-story of a werewolf.

Typical muggle-raised kids…

"I was a very small boy when I received the bite. My parents tried everything, but in those days there was no cure. The potion that Professor Snape has been making for me is a very recent discovery. It makes me safe, you see. As long as I take it in the week preceding the full moon, I keep my mind when I transform… I'm able to curl up in my office, a harmless wolf, and wait for the moon to wane again…" Lupin said as he sighed melancholy, his head bowed in some sort of shame.

"Before the Wolfsbane Potion was discovered, however, I became a full-fledged _monster_ once a month. It seemed impossible that I would be able to come to Hogwarts. Other parents weren't likely to want their children exposed to me." Lupin said as he leaned against the bedroom doorframe.

"But then Dumbledore became Headmaster, and he was sympathetic. He said that as long as we took certain precautions, there was no reason I shouldn't come to school…" Lupin said with another somber sigh as he looked directly at Harry, "I told you, months ago, that the Whomping Willow was planted the year I came to Hogwarts. The truth is that it was planted _because_ I came to Hogwarts. This house…" Lupin said looked miserably around the room, "…the tunnel that leads to it… They were built for _my_ use. Once a month, I was smuggled out of the castle, into this place, to transform. The tree was placed at the tunnel mouth to stop anyone coming across me while I was… while I was so d-dangerous."

Harry had absolutely no clue where the story was going, but he didn't care as he listened with rapt attention all the same. The only sound apart from Lupin's voice in the room and entire house were Scabbers' frightened squeaking.

"My transformations in those days were… they were t-terrible. It is very painful to turn into a werewolf. I was separated from humans to bite, so I bit and scratched myself instead. The villagers heard the noise and the screaming and thought they were hearing particularly violent spirits. Dumbledore encouraged the rumor… Even now, when the house has been silent for years, the villagers don't dare approach it…" Lupin said with a shake of his head as he ran a hand through his graying locks, "But apart from my transformations, I was happier than I had ever been in my life. For the first time ever, I had friends, three great friends. Sirius Black… Peter Pettigrew… and, of course, your father, Harry… James Potter."

Lupin paused for a moment, as though recounting every good memory he had with his friends before he face become saddened.

"Now, my three friends could hardly fail to notice that I disappeared once a month. I made up all sorts of stories. I told them my mother was ill, and that I had to go home to see her… I was terrified they would desert me the moment they found out what I was. But of course, they, like you, Hermione, worked out the truth… And they didn't desert me at all. Instead, they did something for me that would make my transformations not only bearable, but the best times of my life. They became Animagi." Lupin said, a small smile tugging at his lips when he glanced over to see the shock on Harry's face as well as his friends.

"My dad, too?" Harry asked completely astounded now that he remembered the Animagus lesson from Professor McGonagall's class. It was said to be incredibly difficult and extremely dangerous.

Just like gaining Soul Reaper powers…

"Yes, indeed." Lupin said as though recalling a fond memory, "It took them the best part of three years to work out how to do it. Your father and Sirius here were the cleverest students in the school, and lucky they were, because the Animagus transformation could go horribly wrong. It's one reason the Ministry keeps a close watch on those attempting to do it. Peter needed all the help he could get from James and Sirius. Finally, in our fifth year, they managed it. They could each turn into a different animal at will."

"But how did that help you?" Hermione said, sounding puzzled while Harry had an idea of what it meant if Pettigrew really was Ron's rat and Sirius Black was that enormous dog. His last piece of the puzzle was what his father's animal had been…

"They couldn't keep me company as humans, so they kept me company as animals." Lupin said calmly, though his voice trembled a bit, "A werewolf is only a danger to people. They sneaked out of the castle every month under James' Invisibility Cloak. They transformed… Peter, as the smallest, could slip beneath the Willow's attacking branches and touch the knot that freezes it. They would then slip down the tunnel and join me. Under their influence, I became less dangerous. My body was still wolfish, but my mind seemed to become less so while I was with them."

"Hurry up, Remus!" Sirius Black snarled while was still watching Scabbers with a horrible sort of hunger on his face. Harry had nearly forgotten about the man as he glanced toward him to glare.

"I'm getting there, Sirius, I'm getting there… well, highly exciting possibilities were open to us now that we could all transform. Soon we were leaving the Shrieking Shack and roaming the school grounds and the village by night. Sirius and James transformed into such large animals, they were able to keep a werewolf in check. I doubt whether any Hogwarts students ever found out more about the Hogwarts grounds and Hogsmeade than we did… And that's how we came to write the Marauder's Map, and sign it with our nicknames. Sirius is Padfoot. Peter is Wormtail. James was Prongs."

Harry was about to ask about the animals, mainly his father's transformation, when Hermione cut him off, "That was still really dangerous! Running around in the dark with a werewolf! What if you'd given the others the slip, and bitten somebody?"

"A thought that still haunts me to this day…" Lupin said heavily, "And there were near misses, many of them. We laughed about them afterwards. We were young, thoughtless — carried away with our own cleverness."

"I sometimes felt guilty about betraying Dumbledore's trust, of course… he had admitted me to Hogwarts when no other headmaster would have done so, and he had no idea I was breaking the rules he had set down for my own and others' safety. He never knew I had led three fellow students into becoming Animagi illegally. But I always managed to forget my guilty feelings every time we sat down to plan our next month's adventure. And I haven't changed…"

Lupin's face had hardened, a certain degree of self-disgust in his voice as he spoke, "All this year, I have been battling with myself, wondering whether I should tell Dumbledore that Sirius was an Animagus. But I didn't do it. Why? Because I was too cowardly. It would have meant admitting that I'd betrayed his trust while I was at school, admitting that I'd led others along with me… and Dumbledore's trust has meant everything to me. He let me into Hogwarts as a boy, and he gave me a job when I have been shunned all my adult life, unable to find paid work because of what I am. And so I convinced myself that Sirius was getting into the school using dark arts he learned from Voldemort, that being an Animagus had nothing to do with it… so, in a way, Snape's been right about me all along."

"Snape?" Black questioned harshly, taking his eyes completely off Scabbers for the first time to look up at Lupin, "What's Snape got to do with it?"

"He's here, Sirius." Lupin said heavily, running a hand down his face, "He's teaching here as well… has been for a while now, apparently…" Lupin said with a sigh, looking up at Harry, Ron, and Hermione.

"Professor Snape was at school with us. He fought very hard against my appointment to the Defense Against the Dark Arts job. He has been telling Dumbledore all year that I am not to be trusted. He has his reasons… you see, Sirius here played a trick on him which nearly killed him, a trick which involved me —"

Black interrupted as he made a derisive noise to show his contempt.

"It served him right." Sirius Black sneered out fiercely, "Sneaking around, trying to find out what we were up to… hoping he could get us expelled…"

"Severus was very interested in where I went every month." Lupin told Harry, Ron, and Hermione as Crookshanks sat at Harry's feet, "We were in the same year, you know, and we… er… didn't like each other very much."

"A gross understatement, I'm sure." Harry said, crossing arms as he remembered many of Snape's battle rants being about how much the greasy-haired hated his father with all the burning passion of a fiery sun.

"Yes, well… He especially disliked your father James, Harry. Jealous, I think, of James's talent on the Quidditch field…" Lupin gave pausing a sound of indignation was heard near Harry. Harry rolled his eyes as Crookshanks began stretching sleepily. Lupin, seeing Crookshanks growing bored, pressed on, "…Umm… anyways, Snape had seen me crossing the grounds with Madam Pomfrey one evening as she led me toward the Whomping Willow to transform. Sirius thought it would be… er… amusing, to tell Snape all he had to do was prod the knot on the tree trunk with a long stick, and he'd be able to get in after me. Well, of course, Snape tried it… if he'd got as far as this house, he'd have met a fully grown werewolf… but your father, who'd heard what Sirius had done, went after Snape and pulled him back, at great risk to his life… Snape glimpsed me, though, at the end of the tunnel. He was forbidden by Dumbledore to tell anybody, but from that time on he knew what I was…" Lupin finished as Harry, meanwhile, had been trying to remember if that was a full moon or not. He was, however, soon distracted as he heard stealth footsteps moving about the room. All that training he had done allowed him to catch the sound of the lightest creak in the floorboards while the house was silent.

"Okay, enough." Harry said, holding up his hands to stop Lupin from going on as all eyes were on him, "Okay, I've tried… really, I have… to let you explain everything to give you the benefit of the doubt, because Snape annoys and hates me. But honestly, I just have to get this out in the open. First of all, the Slytherin Common Room is under Black Lake, so he couldn't have seen you from there."

"How do you know that?" Lupin asked as Harry waved him off.

"That's irrelevant at the moment, so there's no point in answering. So anyways, if Snape were to see you, then he'd have to be outside while you were. Why would he be out there after dinner? Unless he was visiting Hagrid, there seems no reason to do this. Secondly, even if he had seen you, you were with Madam Pomfrey, so it was clearly for a medical reason. Thirdly, why in the name of Merlin would Snape take advice from someone who he hated? It sounds suspicious to me. What makes it sound even worst is the fact that Black here tired to feed the greasy-haired git to you, his werewolf friend." Harry said, crossing his arms once again as he showed just how fed up he was with the entire night.

Black kept glancing from Scabbers to Harry while Lupin sighed tiredly, running a hand through his graying locks. Harry could easily that things weren't going as Lupin had probably planned for them to. Hermione was gaping openly at him; most likely because at the level of logic and understanding he had employed in the situation while Ron fought to get Scabbers down.

"Yes… well, you see, we were only 16 years-old. Sirius and us didn't understand the severity of what we did back then." Lupin said as Harry rolled his eyes.

"We're 13 years-old and even we see that's a bad idea." Harry retorted as he gestured toward himself and his friends, who looked to not want to take a side in the matter while Lupin and Harry were facing off.

"Will you two get on with it!" Black said as Harry turned an annoyed glare at the man. Harry quickly uncrossed his right hand as he pointed his index finger and middle finger at Sirius Black. Before either adult or Crookshanks could do anything more than gape, Harry had already recited his spell.

"_**Bakudo #61: Rikujokoro**_"

The tips of Harry's two fingers sparked brightly for a spilt second before six thin, yet wide beams of yellow light slammed into Black's midsection, holding the disheveled man in place as he grunted from the energy beams hitting him.

"You never learn any patience, no matter how powerful you've become over the year…" Crookshanks sighed out in exasperation as Harry frowned mockingly.

"I don't know. I've listened to this insanity for a good while before this. I think I've learned a great deal of patience." Harry said before he turned to Lupin, who went rigid as Harry gestured toward him, "Now then. We were talking."

"_That magic, it's so powerful. To cast a wandless binding spell of that level of complexity should be far beyond the level of a Hogwarts' student. Even with a verbal incantion, though one I've never heard before, it's still too far beyond him. Maybe this was why he could perform the Patronus at his age so easily. Then… is it true? Did he really gain powers from Voldemort after the man tried to murder him? If so, I don't think that wandless non-verbal breaking charm will work on a binding spell of that level_…" Lupin thought without letting his thoughts betray him as he nodded to Harry, "Yes. What do you think of this, Harry? Honestly, I'm at a lost of where we were." Lupin said with a sigh as he shared a quick glance with Sirius. Even after so much time apart and the rift that he thought he had created with the man, the two could still speak volumes through a simple glance at each other, "_And if I keep him talking long enough, then maybe we'll actually get somewhere. And maybe I can find out about this power of his_."

"Snape doesn't like you… because you tried to eat him as a kid." Harry said slowly as Lupin looked highly offended.

"I did _not_ try to eat Severus." Lupin said, still looking somewhat reproachfully after a few calming breaths.

"But you nearly did all the same." Harry replied as he shifted his weight from one foot to the other, "And I'm guessing that that would be a very traumatizing experience for him; nearly werewolf-chow and all. Did you apologize?"

"I… But…" Lupin sputtered, taking on a look of utter confusion and indignation before he collected himself, "No… No, I didn't. I should do that later, though. It couldn't hurt anything, at least."

"Good, because ya know, I apologized to Justin, even though I saved him by using-"

"I swear to _Merlin_ that if you call Parseltongue a foreign language again, I'm going to Tongue-Tie Hex you so you never speak another language again!" Ron and Hermione shouted in protest before they blinked and looked at the other, turning away with red faces while Harry shrugged uncaringly.

"Just pointing out the facts." Harry said as he glanced over the room.

Black shuddered as he tried to escape Harry's Kido spell while Lupin was look faint as he gaped at Harry, wordlessly mouthing the word Parseltongue repeatedly as if it tasted funny in his mouth.

"Harry, get back on track. Ron's lost a lot of blood." Hermione said as Harry scoffed, moving over to his friend as his hands began to glow a faint mint-green. Harry placed his hands over Ron's leg as the redhead winced from the feeling of something slimy crawling over his open wound like a gel.

"Oh, right, because you know how incredibly laid-back we wizards are about near-death experiences." Harry said rhetorically as Lupin looked away, "The great Merlin knows that in the Muggle World, if you tried to feed a classmate to a wild animal or expose them to a painful, ostracizing, and debilitating disease, or any disease at all, really, you'd receive a punishment. Ya know, something along the lines of expulsion, arrest, charged with assault, and probably attempted murder as well. But hey, that could just be all the extremely normal law shows I was made to watch whenever I got the chance to glance at the television."

"But your father pulled Snape back at great risk to his own being!" Lupin repeated as Harry sighed.

"This is getting annoying. Listen, as many great things I heard about my father, I refuse to believe he was some saintly guy. So I'm gonna go with the fact that just because someone stopped an attempted murder from happening, doesn't mean it wasn't basically… attempted murder. And didn't you say that my dad, Black, and Pettigrew became Animagi so that they could be around you safely when you were transformed?"

"Umm… Yes…" Lupin said, seeing his verbal defeat drawing closer and closer at the hands of a 13 year-old.

"So even if my dad didn't turn into… whatever in order to protect your secret, he still had the option to do that if things went poorly, and so, therefore, he wasn't really in any danger… like, little to none." Harry said as Lupin's eye twitched.

"I… Umm… Well…" Lupin trailed off.

"And aside from the accidental attempted eating, if you keep defending Black's attempts to murder an innocent if somewhat annoying 16-year-old, no wonder he still holds a grudge, even though you laid off after that," Hermione concluded.

"Wait, you guys did lay off him after you nearly got him killed… right?" Harry asked as Black snorted.

"Why should we? He had it coming!" Black said as Lupin shot him a look.

"Sirius!"

"What? I didn't mean to nearly get him killed! Just spook the greasy git a bit. Honestly, I was 16 and never believed he'd actually take advice from me. Even James didn't take advice from me!" Black said as Harry finally had enough.

"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU PEOPLE?" Harry exploded as Black and Lupin blinked owlishly at him, "You tried to kill a classmate, or at best, simply didn't _care_ if he died or became a werewolf, when you must have _known_ what a terrible affliction that was!" Harry shouted as he looked pointedly at Lupin, who looked away in shame before Harry turned his sights on Sirius, "And after that, you kept right on _tormenting_ him! That shows an almost incredible degree of… of… of shallowness!"

For a long while no one spoke, the only sounds being some small creaking in the floorboards and Scabbers chattering as he tried to escape Ron.

"… Be that as it may…" Lupin said quietly with his head bowed like a scolded child, "Severus still harbors a schoolboy grudge and—"

"A schoolboy grudge?" Harry and Hermione nearly shrieked in outrage.

"Is that what you think this is about?" Harry asked as Hermione looked as shocked at them as he was, "You know, not the fact that you guys nearly _killed_ him and then showed quite clearly that my dad- no, my _father_ only saved him so you two wouldn't get in trouble? Black would have been expelled, and the Ministry would have pushed for you to be executed!" Harry said as Lupin and Black looked away, neither wanting to meet his gaze, "If Thestor almost got me eaten by a werewolf-Goyle, and Crabbe pulled me back to save their own skins, then I'd… Well, first I'd punch myself for being stupid enough to listen to Thestor, and then I would have a _real_ reason to hold a grudge, even _if_ they apologized and became saints, and _especially_ if they continued bullying me!"

"You guys are no fun…" Black grumbled as though it were a light-hearted matter, "James would have done it."

"No he wouldn't have, Sirius!" Lupin said quickly before he actually thought about it, "Well… not as much…"

"But he _did_. He _did_ do it. And I'm starting to think that maybe he was a really horrible person like Snape keeps saying, after all. And to tell you the truth; I think I liked you more when you were a mass-murderer." Harry said frankly as Black look aghast.

"D-Do you really mean that?" Black asked, still looking aghast, "I was only a kid; you can't hold that against me!"

"I don't." Harry deadpanned as he raised a brow, "Although it's really no surprise people were willing to believe, albeit reluctantly, that you were secretly a crazy mass-murder if you pulled stunts like _this_!" Harry said as he took a deep calming breath, "But seriously, who holds grudges like that for over… _18_ years?"

* * *

><p>There was another awkward silence which followed Harry's shake of his head. Finally, Ron coughed, gaining everyone's attention as he held up his rat.<p>

"So… Umm… what's this about Scabbers?" Ron said as he glanced around the room nervously. Lupin cleared his throat as he, very awkward, took up the escape from his verbal "time-out".

"Right then… That rat is Peter Pettigrew." Lupin said as Black tried to nod, but found his head quite stiff and unmovable. Harry blinked before remembering that he had used Rikujokoro on the man. That Bakudo was as good as any full-body binding charm wizards had created and wouldn't allow Black to move anything more than his facial features.

"Umm… right. You see, I suggested Pettigrew be the Secret Keeper because I was too obvious the choice, but he turned out to be a Death Eater." Black said as Harry blinked.

What the hell was a Death Eater? Oh well, he'd worry about that later on when everything was said and done with.

"I'm still not saying I believe you, but simply pointed out flaws in your logic." Harry said with a distrustful look at Lupin, who sighed.

"Then it's time we offered you some proof that will make you believe us without a shadow of a doubt." Lupin said calmly as he closed his eyes briefly, "Mr. Weasley, give me Peter, please. Now."

Ron, in a moment of defiance, clutched Scabbers closer to his chest while he narrowed his blurred vision at Lupin while Harry was still bent over his leg, slowly healing the wound.

"Come off it." Ron said weakly, Harry's mysterious healing magic making him feel drowsy for some reason he didn't know. It was like his magic was calm and sedated, "Are you trying to say that Black here broke out of Azkaban just to get his hands on Scabbers? I mean…" Ron looked up at Harry and Hermione for some support, "Okay, say Pettigrew could turn into a rat, but there are millions of rats. Just how's he supposed to know which one he is after if he was locked up in Azkaban?"

"Wow, that is a good question. Wouldn't you agree, Sirius. That's a fair question, right?" Lupin said, almost mockingly as he turned to Black, both frowning slightly at one another.

"Why is _everyone_ so surprised that I can say something _smart_?" Ron said huffing, though he swooned slightly until Harry redoubled his healing efforts.

Hey, he wasn't Captain Unohana, okay! He only knew what Soi Fon and Byakuya had taught him… which wasn't much!

"Because you act like a brainless git most of the time." Hermione muttered with her arms crossed, feeling a bit more at ease with the entire situation now that she had time to adjust.

"Oi! I heard that!" Ron said as Hermione smirked at him before sticking out her tongue.

"Anyways," Lupin said, regaining control of the room, "How did you find out where Peter was?"

Black tried to move his body, but when he did, they were all reminded of the forgotten six bars of light keeping the gauntly man imprisoned in their bind.

"I need to fish something out of my pockets." Black said as Harry gave him a suspicious look, but with the snap of his fingers, the six rods shattered to dust and disappeared.

Black put one of his almost claw-like hands inside his robes before taking out a crumpled piece of paper, which he smoothed flat and held out to show the others. Harry's eyes, and not just his alone, widened as they all saw that it was the photograph of Ron and his family that had appeared in the Daily Prophet the previous summer, and there, on Ron's shoulder, was Scabbers.

"How did you get this?" Lupin asked Black, looking almost completely thunderstruck though he seemed to have the same look on his face as Hermione; one that was working out the possibilities before Black could even answer the question.

"Fudge." Black said as he tossed the paper to the bed, "When he came to inspect Azkaban last year, he gave me his paper. And there was Peter, on the front page on this boy's shoulder… I knew him at once… what with how many times I've seen him transform. And the caption said the boy would be going back to Hogwarts… to where Harry was…"

"… You thought he could be a danger to Harry?" Hermione asked, looking slightly confused as Lupin stared hard at Black before looking intently at the picture of Scabbers and Ron. Taking up the paper, Lupin peered at it with it close to his face before he drew back from the photo with an astonished gasp.

"My Word…" Lupin said softly, now staring from Scabbers to the picture in the paper and back again, "His front paw…"

"What about it?" Ron said defiantly as Black pointed at Scabbers.

"He's got a toe missing… on his front paw." Black said as though it should have been obvious by then.

"Of course!" Lupin breathed out like genius had struck him, "… So simple… so brilliant… he cut it off himself?"

"Just before he transformed." Black said as he settled on the bed, "When I cornered him, he yelled for the whole street to hear that I'd betrayed Lily and James. Then, before I could curse him, he blew apart the street with the wand behind his back, killed everyone within twenty feet of himself… and sped down into the sewer with the other rats…"

"Didn't you ever hear, Ron?" Lupin said, still not composed from the simplicity of it all, "The biggest bit of Peter they found… was his finger."

"Look, Scabbers probably had a fight with another rat or something! He's been in my family for ages, right —"

"Twelve years, in fact." Harry said as Lupin nodded, "It's like what we were talking about. We wondered why he was living so long, and now this-"

"No, it's just that w-we… we've been taking good care of him!" Ron said as Harry saw that Ron was looking pretty desperate to save his rat. The rat had been in his family for years, he had cared for it, and Ron wasn't one to turn on those he cared for (even if it was a rat Ron himself had called useless many times over, and was now suspected of being a conniving betrayer).

"Not looking too good at the moment, though, is he?" Lupin said calmly as he smoothed out his shabby robes, "I'd guess he's been losing weight ever since he heard Sirius was on the loose again…"

"He's been scared of that mad cat!" Ron said, nodding toward Crookshanks, who had moved onto purring on the bed while raising a brow at Ron for the accusation made against.

"But that isn't right." Harry said, standing to full height as he finally managed to close the wound and stop the bleeding, "Scabbers had been looking ill before he met Crookshanks. Ever since you returned from Egypt; since the time when Black had escaped."

"This cat isn't mad either, boy." Black said hoarsely. Black reached out a bony hand and stroked Crookshanks' fluffy head, "He's the most intelligent of his kind I've ever met. He recognized Peter for what he truly was right away. And when he met me, he knew I was no ordinary dog; or a true dog at all. It was a while before he trusted me… Finally, I managed to communicate to him what I was after, and he's been helping me…"

"What do you mean?" Hermione breathed, still reeling from the fact that her cat was helping Sirius Black get into the castle.

So never mind the fact that her cat could talk! She wasn't sure how much more she could take!

"He tried to bring Peter to me, but couldn't… so he stole the passwords into Gryffindor Tower for me… As I understand it, he took them from a boy's bedside table…"

Hermione finally felt her brain begin to sag under the weight of what she was hearing while Harry stood there with a clouded look on his face as though he were thinking over how every piece fit into the puzzle while also debating whether or not he believed their story. She didn't believe them! It was all so absurd! All so absurd… and yet…

"But Peter got wind of what was going on and ran for it." Black croaked, "This cat… Crookshanks, did you call him? Well, he told me Peter had left blood on the sheets… I supposed he bit himself… Well, faking his own death had worked once before…"

For reasons he didn't know, those words jolted Harry to anger.

"And why did he fake his death?" Harry asked furiously, "Because he knew you were about to kill him like you killed my parents!"

"No," said Lupin, "Harry—"

"And now you've come to finish him off!" Harry yelled as Black finally turned to him.

"Yes… Yes, I have." Sirius Black said with an evil look at Scabbers.

"Then I should just let Snape take you!" Harry shouted, gesturing to the empty spot by the door as the others looked at him wildly.

"That's right. _**Stupefy**_!" sneered a cold voice from the wall behind Lupin while a red light streaked across the room and hit Scabbers the Rat, making the rat slump over in Ron's hands.

Everyone's eyes widened as Severus Snape was pulling off the Invisibility Cloak, his wand pointing directly at Scabbers before it moved slowly to be directed at Lupin.

* * *

><p>Hermione screamed, Black leapt to his feet, and Harry felt as though he'd received a huge electric shock. He hadn't expected Snape to actually reveal his presence just then.<p>

"I found this at the base of the Whomping Willow, Potter. Take better care of your priceless and ancient magical heirlooms, would you?" Snape said, throwing the cloak to Harry, who only tossed it aside a second later while still staring at Snape. Snape only rolled his eyes at the boy's defiance, though he was still careful to keep this wand pointing directly at Lupin's chest, "Very useful, Potter, I thank you…"

"Greasy git…" Harry muttered loudly with arms crossed once more as he gazed over the man who finally decided to make his appearance.

"What are you doing here?" Black spat furiously as Snape pointedly ignored him while he focused on Lupin.

Now that Harry could see Snape, the overgrown bat of a man looked like he was slightly breathless, but his face was full of suppressed triumph. A horrible twisted grin was on his face like he was about to win the world's greatest prize… which he probably was because he had caught two of his most hated people in a bad situation.

"You're wondering, perhaps, how I knew you were here?" Snape said, his eyes glittering, "I've just been to your office, Lupin, because you forgot to take your potion tonight, so I took a goblet-full along. And very lucky I did… lucky for me, that is. Lying on your desk was a certain map. One glance at it told me all I needed to know. I saw you running along this passageway and out of sight."

"Severus, please—" Lupin began, but Snape quieted him with a dismissive wave of his hand.

"Oh don't fret, Lupin. I was going to turn both of you in and then watch as you two were feed to the Dementors and given… The Kiss…" Snape said, and then glanced at Black as the little color the man had was drained away. Snape turned back to Lupin with an even more smug and victorious expression than before, "… But it just so happens that I was given the unexpected pleasure of listening to your own godson and only child of your dearest dead friend and my most sworn enemy tear into the both of you on my behalf. So, while that went on, I thought I might as well let this little drama play out and only intervene… if necessary."

"You consider stunning a rat necessary?" Lupin questioned calmly, even raising a brow, even though Snape's wand was still pointed directly at his heart.

"Yes." Snape said with a nod, "He could have just as easily bitten Weasley and made his escape in rat like form. Then there's the fact that he can still transform when he's tied up, as _Potter_ liked to prove time and again. One distraction would be all the opportunity he'd need. Not to mention you'd never find him at night, or that if you did it'd take a very long and extremely careful search. So, the only logical conclusion would be to have him stunned."

"Wait, what kind of distraction?" Harry asked curiously before realization struck him and his expression turned deadpan as he looked at Lupin, "There is a full moon tonight, isn't it?"

"Very good, Potter. I see those lessons of observation work well once they're beaten into your head." Snape drawled with a nod as Harry glared at him, "Yes, Potter, there is and the werewolf is a danger as he didn't take his potion."

"It's not very nice to call him "the werewolf". I mean, the guy has a name. You wouldn't like it if we all started calling you "the bat" again, now would you?" Harry said as Snape sneered at him.

"Be that as it may, Potter, I'm just reminding everyone that he is, in fact, a werewolf. It's been a very cloudy night so far, but sooner or later those clouds shall part and he _will_ transform; controlled or not." Snape said as Harry shrugged.

"Nothing you and I couldn't handle." Harry said as Snape scoffed, but didn't object.

"So you realized he forgot to take his potion but didn't bring any with you?" Hermione asked incredulously as Snape froze on spot for a brief second.

"You're right, Granger. I did bring some, but had forgotten in all the… excitement. Here, Lupin." Snape said as he reached into his robes and pulled out a still faintly smoking goblet which he thrust at Remus, who took it gratefully.

"Now I won't be a danger to you, but the sight of me would still panic people, so I'd had better stay here." Lupin said, downing the goblet, "Can I trust you to take this matter to Dumbledore, Severus?"

Snape nodded, looking slightly offended and yet slightly guilty, "Of course, but I will have to let people know about your… condition, you realize."

"Seriously, we get a new Defense Professor every damn year. Is the job cursed or something?" Harry asked in annoyance.

"Actually, yes it is. And it was done by Voldemort." Snape affirmed as Harry looked shocked and upset.

"But… Professor Lupin's been the best DADA Professor we've ever had!" Harry protested as Snape raised a brow aloofly.

"Given the last and only two other Professors you've encountered that held the position, I can see why you'd say that. But given Professor I've-Voldemort-On-The-Back-Of-My-Head and Professor Memory-Charms-Are-The-Only-Spell-I-Know-How-To-Do, that's not saying very much for Professor I'm-A-Dangerous-Werewolf's ability to teach." Snape said as he glanced about the room, seeing many of it's occupants glaring at him, "Oh, you know it's true!"

"Not that Professor Lupin isn't a really good teacher though, because he is." Harry said defiantly as Hermione nodded.

"Yes, he is, but… he's also dangerous to us if he couldn't even remember to take his potion." Hermione pointed out as Harry shrugged.

"You're probably right. If Snape hadn't been here, he probably would have tried to kill us when he transformed and very well might have." Harry said with a shrug as Hermione hummed in thought.

"I suppose the Muggle world equivalent would be that of a violent schizophrenic, who the Headmaster assured would be safe as long as he took his medication." Hermione said as Harry nodded.

"True, and he did forgot tonight, even _before_ seeing the Map." Harry said as he glanced over Lupin and Black, "And even when he does, our safety clearly matters _less_ to him than losing face by confessing that 15 years ago he broke a few rules and now someone who he sincerely believed to be a mass-murderer could turn into a dog and hide on the grounds as well as sneak into the castle several different ways." Harry finished with a flourish as Lupin and Black looked away. Lupin sighed, once again running a hand through his graying hair.

"Look, we can discuss this later. Right now, you need to get out of here. Wolfsbane Potion or not, I don't really want you all to see this…"

The others nodded, moving toward the door as they started to leave.

* * *

><p>"Wait!" a voice snapped loudly as Harry and the others turned to look back, seeing that Sirius Black hadn't moved an inch from his spot, "This isn't done! I want them to believe, without a shadow of a doubt, that I am telling them- telling Harry the absolute and undeniable truth!"<p>

"What does the truth matter now, Black?" Snape sneered while his hand was still on the door frame, "You've convinced us that Pettigrew is the rat."

"No I haven't." Black croaked harshly, "Right now you believe me, but in the back of your minds you all want some undeniable proof that he is the rat."

"Then go ahead and finish the explanation. We have time. It's not like anyone else will come looking for any of us." Harry shrugged as everyone stared at him oddly, "What? I'm just used to how no one ever comes to save us until after I've already saved the day."

Black paused slightly before he took in a deep, somber breath as his shoulders sagged.

"Harry, I… I just as well killed them… It was I who persuaded Lily and James to change to Peter at the last moment, persuaded them to use him as Secret-Keeper instead of me… I'm to blame, I know it… The night they died, I'd arranged to check on Peter, make sure he was still safe, but when I arrived at his hiding place, he'd gone. Yet there was no sign of a struggle. Nothing was out of place, but the door had been unlocked. It didn't feel right, and I was scared. I set out for your parents' house straight away… And when I saw their house, destroyed, and their bodies… I realized what Peter must've done… what _I'd_ done…" Black said before his voice broke, and he turned away in shame.

"Enough of this." Lupin said, a noticeably steely note in his voice which Harry had never heard before, "We're pressed for time with the full moon. There's one certain way to prove what really happened. Ron, give me that rat."

"What are you going to do with him if I give him to you?" Ron asked Lupin tensely as everyone else groaned or rolled their eyes.

"I'm going to force him to show himself." Lupin said patiently, though Harry see that patience wearing thin, "If he really is just an ordinary rat, it won't hurt him."

Ron hesitated.

"Ron, give him the bleeding rat so we can go. I'd rather not be here much longer if we can avoid it." Harry said.

Plus, Harry was growing worried. Why hadn't Byakuya or Soi Fon found him? Why hadn't Mayuri? Or Jushiro? Or even Ginrei? Harry glanced up at Snape, and wondered what the man had done with Toshiro and Shuhei while he had gone. Snape had probably left, thinking he'd only be gone for 15 minutes at the most, but it was probably an entire hour or so since then. Did he give them a meal? Did they eat? Bathe? Wander through Hogwarts trying to find them? Those kids could get hurt being in Hogwarts without their supervision.

* * *

><p>At long last, Ron sighed while he held out Scabbers to Lupin, who hurriedly took the rat. Scabbers, finally recovering from the stunner, began to squeak without stopping, twisting and turning slowly while his tiny black eyes bulging in his head. Lupin sighed, breathing deeply in anticipation.<p>

"Ready, Sirius?" Lupin asked as he produced his wand.

Black nodded as Snape, begrudgingly, had tossed the man his own wand while he approached Lupin and the struggling rat, his wet eyes suddenly seemed to be burning in his face.

"Why did you give him your wand?" Harry asked, not turning to the man beside him as Snape didn't either.

"You know of how much I loved your mother? How much she meant to me and all?" Snape asked in a toneless drawl as Harry scoffed.

"Of course. Especially with the way you had raved about it that one time. How my father was an-"

"Okay, I get the point." Snape said quickly, glancing at Harry's smug face only to sneer, "The point is: either Black or Pettigrew is the cause of Lily Evan's being dead, and will not rest until I see the _both_ of them dead before me."

Harry didn't say anything. No, he only frowned as he nodded his head.

Besides, what could he say to a man who had, and still did, basically worshipped his mother like some Queen or even… a Goddess?

"Together?" Black said quietly as Lupin.

"I think so." Lupin said, holding Scabbers tightly in one hand and his wand in the other, "On the count of three. One… two… three!"

A flash of blue-white light erupted from both wands; for a moment, Scabbers was frozen in midair, his small gray form twisting madly as Ron yelled when the rat fell and hit the floor, but then there was another blinding flash of light and —

"Okay, this is not what I expected…" Harry muttered as Hermione nodded in agreement.

It was like watching a speeded-up film of a growing tree. A head was shooting upward from the ground; limbs were sprouting; a moment later, a man was standing where Scabbers had been, cringing and wringing his hands. Crookshanks was spitting and snarling on the bed; the hair on his back was standing up.

He was a very short man, hardly taller than Harry and Hermione. His thin, colorless hair was unkempt and there was a large bald patch on top. He had the shrunken appearance of a plump man who has lost a lot of weight in a short time. His skin looked grubby, almost like Scabbers' fur, and something of the rat lingered around his pointed nose and his very small, watery eyes. He looked around at them all, his breathing fast and shallow. Harry saw his eyes dart to the door and back again.

Fat chance he'd get to escape though.

"Well, hello there, Peter." Lupin said pleasantly, as though rats frequently erupted into old school friends around him, "Long time, no see."

"S-Sirius… R-Remus…" Even Pettigrew's voice was squeaky. Again, his eyes darted toward the door, "My friends… my old friends…"

Black was clenching his teeth in anger, beyond words as his wand arm rose, but Lupin seized him around the wrist quickly, giving him a warning look before he turned again to Pettigrew, Lupin's voice light and casual.

"We've been having a little chat, Peter, about what happened the night Lily and James died. You might have missed the finer points while you were squeaking around down there on the bed—"

"Remus…" Pettigrew gasped, and Harry could see beads of sweat breaking out over his pasty face, "You don't believe him, do you…? He tried to kill me, Remus…"

"So we've heard." Lupin said, more coldly and tightly as he too tried to remain composed, "I'd like to clear up one or two little matters with you, Peter, if you'll be so—"

"He's come to try and kill me again!" Pettigrew squeaked suddenly, pointing at Black, and Harry saw that he used his middle finger, because his index was missing, "He killed Lily and James, and now he's going to kill me too… You've got to help me, Remus…"

Remus Lupin closed his eyes to Pettigrew, "So Peter, you going to try and beg for your life… How shameful after what you've done…" Lupin said quietly as Pettigrew gave a frightened squeak.

Black's face looked more skull-like than ever as he stared at Pettigrew with his fathomless eyes.

"No one's going to try and kill you until we've sorted a few things out." Lupin said before Black could get an angered word out.

"Sorted things out?" squealed Pettigrew, looking wildly about him once more, eyes taking in the boarded windows and, again, the only door. "I knew he'd come after me! I knew he'd be back for me! I've been waiting for this for twelve years!"

Black laughed darkly at Pettigrew's words, but still he didn't speak as Lupin's eyes snapped open to gaze upon Pettigrew.

"You knew Sirius was going to break out of Azkaban?" Lupin asked calmly, his brow furrowed. "When nobody has ever done it before?"

"He's got dark powers the rest of us can only dream of!" Pettigrew shouted shrilly, "How else did he get out of there? I suppose He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named taught him a few tricks!"

Black started to laugh again. It was a horrible, mirthless laugh that filled the whole room. For some reason, that emptiness of that laugh unnerved Harry slightly as he remembered the laugh of… his Zanpakuto…

"Voldemort, teach me tricks?" Black said as Pettigrew flinched, as though Black had brandished a whip at him.

"What, scared to hear your old master's name?" Black asked mockingly, "I don't blame you, Peter. His lot aren't very happy with you, are they?"

"D-Don't know w-what you mean, S-Sirius—" Pettigrew muttered, his breathing faster than ever. His whole face shining with sweat now.

"You haven't been hiding from me for twelve years." Black said with a shake of his head as a horrible twisted grin wormed it's way onto his face, "No, you've been hiding from Voldemort's old supporters. I heard things in Azkaban, Peter… They all think you're dead, or you'd have to answer to them… I've heard them screaming all sorts of things in their sleep. Sounds like they think the double-crosser double-crossed them. Voldemort went to the Potters' on your information… and Voldemort met his downfall there. And not all Voldemort's supporters ended up in Azkaban, did they? There are still plenty out there, free, and biding their time, pretending they've seen the error of their ways. If they ever got wind that you were still alive, Peter—"

"D-Don't k-know… w-what you're t-talking a-about…" Pettigrew said again, more shrilly and stuttered than ever. Pettigrew wiped his face on his sleeve and looked up at Lupin, "Y-You don't believe this — this madness, R-Remus—"

"I must admit, Peter, I have difficulty in understanding why an innocent man would want to spend twelve years as a rat." Lupin said evenly.

"Innocent, but scared!" squealed Pettigrew, "If Voldemort's supporters were after me, it was because I put one of their best men in Azkaban; the spy, Sirius Black!"

Black's face contorted into a look of slight annoyance that held back the flood of rage and fury the man was obviously harvesting.

"How _dare_ you." Black growled, sounding suddenly like the bear-sized dog he had been, "I, a spy for Voldemort? When did I ever need to, or ever did, sneak around people who were stronger and more powerful than myself? But you, Peter… I'll never understand why I didn't see you were the spy from the start. You always liked big friends who'd look after you, didn't you? It used to be us… me and Remus… and James…"

Pettigrew wiped his face again; he was almost panting for breath.

"Me, a spy… must be out of your mind… never… don't know how you can say such a—" Peter Pettigrew said as Black pressed on.

"Lily and James only made you Secret-Keeper because _I_ suggested it." Black hissed, so venomously that Pettigrew took a step backward, "I thought it was the perfect plan… a bluff… Voldemort would be sure to come after me, would never dream they'd use a weak, talent-less thing like _you_… It must have been the finest moment of your miserable life, telling Voldemort you could hand him the Potters."

Pettigrew was muttering distractedly; Harry raised a brow as he caught words like "far-fetched" and "lunacy," but he couldn't help, but to pay more attention to the ashen color of Pettigrew's face and the way his eyes continued to dart toward the windows and door.

"Professor Lupin?" Hermione said timidly, as though they were in a new sort of classroom. Snape rolled his eyes as he sneered at Hermione while Harry sneered back at the greasy overgrown bat in defense of his friend, "Can… Can I say something?"

"Certainly, Hermione." Lupin said courteously as Hermione nodded.

"Well if Scabbers— I mean, this… this man… Well, if he's been sleeping in Harry's dormitory for three years. If he's working for You-Know-Who, how come he never tried to hurt Harry before now?"

"There!" Pettigrew said shrilly and suddenly, pointing at Ron with his maimed hand, "Thank you! You see, Remus? I have never hurt a hair of Harry's head! Why should I?"

"I'll tell you why." Black said while sneering in pure disgust at his ex-friend, "Because you never did anything for anyone unless you could see what was in it for you. Voldemort's been in hiding for twelve years, they say he's half dead. You weren't about to commit murder right under Albus Dumbledore's nose, for a wreck of a wizard who'd lost all of his power, were you? You'd want to be quite sure he was the biggest bully in the playground before you went back to him, wouldn't you? Why else did you find a wizard family to take you in? Keeping an ear out for news, weren't you, Peter? Just in case your old protector regained strength, and it was safe to rejoin him…"

Pettigrew opened his mouth and closed it several times as he seemed to have lost the ability to talk.

"Er… Mr. Black… Umm… Sirius?" Hermione called as Black jumped at being addressed, staring at Hermione as though he had never seen anything quite like her.

"If you don't mind me asking, how… how did you get out of Azkaban, if you didn't use Dark Magic?" Hermione asked as Black stared at her.

"Thank you!" Pettigrew gasped, nodding frantically at her, "Exactly! Precisely what I—" But Lupin silenced him with a look.

Black was frowning slightly at Hermione, but not as though he were annoyed with her. He seemed to be pondering his answer.

"I don't know how I did it…" Black said slowly, "I think the only reason I never lost my mind is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me… but it kept me sane and knowing who I am… helped me keep my powers… so when it all became… too much… I could transform in my cell… become a dog. Dementors can't see, you know…" Black said as he swallowed the lump in his throat at the thought of the Dementors, "They feel their way toward people by feeding off their positive emotions… their very soul… They could tell that my feelings were less… less human, less complex when I was a dog… but they thought, of course, that I was losing my mind like everyone else in there, so it didn't trouble them. But I was weak, so very weak, and I had no hope of driving them away from me without a wand…" Black said as he gave pause for a brief second to close his eyes before snapping them back open.

"But then I saw Peter in that picture… I realized he was at Hogwarts with Harry… perfectly positioned to act, if one hint reached his ears that the Dark-side was gathering strength again…" Black said as Harry glanced at Pettigrew, who was shaking his head, mouthing noiselessly, but staring all the while at Black as though hypnotized.

"I knew he'd be ready to strike at the moment he could be sure of allies… and to deliver the last and most important of the Potters to them. If he gave them Harry, who'd dare say he'd betrayed the Dark Lord Voldemort? He'd be welcomed back with honors… So you see, I had to do something. I was the only one who knew Peter was still alive…"

"So you broke out of Azkaban to save Harry." Hermione reasoned, unconsciously said beaming at Sirius Black.

Harry remembered what Mr. Weasley had told Mrs. Weasley, "_The guards said he'd been talking in his sleep… always the same words… "He's at Hogwarts"… So maybe it wasn't exactly me he was looking for, but Peter Pettigrew instead. Now that it's all come together, it makes perfect sense_." Harry thought as he made sure that he was ready at a moment's notice for anything.

"It was as if someone had lit a fire in my head, and the Dementors couldn't destroy it… It wasn't a happy feeling… it was more of an obsession… but it gave me strength, it cleared my mind. So, one night when they opened my door to bring food, I slipped past them as a dog… It's so much harder for them to sense animal emotions that they were confused… I was thin, very thin… thin enough to slip through the bars… I swam as a dog back to the mainland… I journeyed north and slipped into the Hogwarts grounds as a dog. I've been living in the forest ever since, except when I came to watch the Quidditch, of course. You fly as well as your father did, Harry… Maybe even better…" Black said as he looked at Harry, who did not look away. Black then stepped toward Harry, but Harry didn't move away as Black advanced on him like a begger in the streets coming to ask for spare change from a wealthy lord.

"Believe me…" Black croaked, "Believe me, Harry. I never betrayed James and Lily. I would have died before I betrayed them."

And Harry didn't understand why, but at long last he could feel it. He could feel that with all the evidence, that he did indeed finally believe Sirius Black. Harry felt as though something was trying to stop him from doing so, but he did and suppressed his darker thoughts that tried to stop him. As he felt his throat grow dry and tight, Harry didn't speak, but simply nodded all the same.

"No!"

Harry looked up in surprise to see that Pettigrew had fallen to his knees, as though Harry's nod had been his own death sentence. He shuffled forward on his knees, groveling, his hands clasped in front of him as though praying to the ultimate God that was them.

"Sirius… it's me! It's Peter…! Y-Your f-friend… you wouldn't… you _couldn't_—" But Pettigrew didn't get to finish as Black kicked out and Pettigrew recoiled from the sudden and quick blow.

"There's enough filth on my robes without you touching them." Black spat.

"Remus!" Pettigrew squeaked, turning to Lupin instead, writhing imploringly in front of him, "You don't believe this… wouldn't Sirius have told you they'd changed the plan?"

"I can't believe he's actually trying to plead with us. Doesn't he know us at all?" Lupin muttered to himself bitterly with a shake of his head, "Not if he thought I was the spy, Peter." Lupin said aloud as he lifted his view to Black, "I assume that's why you didn't tell me, Sirius?" Lupin said casually over Pettigrew's head.

"Forgive me, Remus." Black said somberly, his tone full of shame as he bowed his head.

"Not at all, Padfoot, old friend." Lupin said, now rolling up his sleeves for some reason Harry couldn't grasp, "And will you, in turn, forgive me for believing you were the spy?"

"Of course." Black said, the ghost of a grin flitted across his gaunt face as he, too, began rolling up his sleeves, "Shall we kill him together?"

"Yes, I think so." Lupin said grimly as Harry quickly glanced at Snape, whose eyes were gleaming in the faint light of the night while the man leaned against the doorframe with his arms crossed.

Snape wasn't going to stop them…

"You wouldn't… you won't…" Pettigrew gasped as he scrambled around to Ron.

"Ron… haven't I been a good friend… a good pet? You won't let them kill me, Ron, will you… you're on my side, aren't you?"

But Ron was staring at Pettigrew with the utmost revulsion.

"I let you sleep in my bed!" Ron said loudly in complete disbelief.

"Kind boy… kind master…" Pettigrew said, crawling toward Ron, "You won't let them do it… I was your rat… I was a good pet…"

"If you made a better rat than a human, it's not much to boast about, Peter." Black said harshly.

Ron, going still paler with pain, wrenched his still broken, yet slightly healed leg out of Pettigrew's reach. Pettigrew turned on his knees, staggered forward, and seized the hem of Hermione's robes.

"Sweet girl… clever girl… y-you won't let them… Help me…"

Hermione pulled her robes out of Pettigrew's clutching hands and backed away against the wall, looking horrified.

"It is such a terrible sight to watch a man beg for his life…" Hermione said softly, Harry just barely hearing her over Pettigrew's rat-like squeaks and noises.

Pettigrew knelt, trembling uncontrollably, and turned his head slowly toward Harry.

"Harry… Harry… you look so much like your father… just like him… just like James…"

"HOW DARE YOU SPEAK TO HARRY?" Black roared, "HOW DARE YOU FACE HIM? HOW DARE YOU TALK ABOUT JAMES IN FRONT OF HIM?"

"Harry…" Pettigrew whispered, shuffling toward him, and hands outstretched, "Harry, James wouldn't have wanted me killed… James would have understood, Harry… he would have shown me mercy…"

Both Black and Lupin strode forward, seizing Pettigrew's shoulders as they threw him backward onto the floor in front of the bed. He sat there, twitching with terror and staring up at them.

"You sold Lily and James to Voldemort." Black said as he was shaking, too, but in rage not fear, "Do you deny it?"

Pettigrew burst into tears. It was horrible to watch, like an oversized, balding baby, cowering on the floor.

"S-Sirius… Sirius, what could I have done? The Dark Lord… y-you have no idea… he has w-weapons you can't imagine… I was scared, Sirius, I was never brave like you, Remus, and James. I never m-meant for it to happen… He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named forced me—"

"DON'T YOU DARE LIE!" Sirius Black bellowed thunderously, "YOU'D BEEN PASSING INFORMATION TO HIM FOR A YEAR BEFORE LILY AND JAMES DIED! YOU WERE HIS SPY!"

"H-He was taking over everywhere!" Pettigrew gasped, "W-What was there to be gained by refusing him?"

"What was there to be gained by fighting the most evil wizard who has ever existed?" Black asked incredulously, with a terrible fury on his face like Harry had only seen from Snape and his Uncle Vernon, "Only innocent lives, Peter!"

"You don't understand!" Pettigrew whined, "He would have killed me, Sirius!"

"THEN YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED!" Black roared, "YOU SHOULD HAVE DIED RATHER THAN BETRAY YOUR FRIENDS, AS WE WOULD HAVE DONE FOR YOU!"

Black and Lupin stood shoulder to shoulder, wands raised.

"You should have realized…" Lupin said quietly, solemnly, "… that if Voldemort didn't kill you, we would. Good-bye, Peter."

Hermione covered her face with her hands and turned to the wall.

* * *

><p>"No!" Harry yelled as he ran forward, placing himself in front Pettigrew, facing the wands while everyone stared at him, "You can't kill him." Harry said breathlessly, his head swooning, "You can't."<p>

Black and Lupin both looked staggered.

"Harry, this vile vermin is the reason you have no parents." Black snarled viciously, "This cringing bit of filth would have seen you die too, without turning a hair. You heard him. His own stinking skin meant more to him than you and your whole family."

"I know." Harry panted, his head pounding as he held his place, "We'll take him… up to the castle. We'll hand him over to the Dementors… He can go to Azkaban… reiceve the Kiss even… but don't kill him."

"Harry!" Pettigrew gasped, flinging his arms around Harry's knees, "You… thank you! It's more than I deserve! Thank you! Fine boy, kind boy! Such a kind Master to spare me! B-Bless you! Oh great—"

"Get off me!" Harry spat, throwing Pettigrew's hands off him in disgust, "I'm not doing this for you. I'm doing it because… because I don't reckon my mother or father would've wanted them to become killers, especially just for you."

No one moved or made a sound except Pettigrew, whose breath was coming in wheezes as he clutched his chest. Black and Lupin were looking at each other. Then, with one movement, they lowered their wands.

"You're the only person who has the right to decide, Harry." Black said with a sigh, "But think, Harry… Think of what he did…"

"He can go to Azkaban." Harry repeated, "If anyone deserves that place, _he_ does…"

Pettigrew was still wheezing behind him.

"Very well, then." Lupin said, not putting away his wand, "Stand aside, Harry."

Harry raised a brow as he hesitated before Lupin rolled his eyes.

"I'm going to tie him up." Lupin said, "That's all, I swear."

Harry stepped out of the way while thin cords shot from Lupin's wand, and the next moment, Pettigrew was wriggling on the floor, bound and gagged.

"But if you transform, Peter." Black growled, his own wand pointing at Pettigrew too, "Then we will kill you. You agree, right, Harry?"

Harry looked down at the pitiful figure on the floor and nodded so that Pettigrew could see him.

"Right, then." Lupin said, suddenly businesslike, "Ron, while I can't mend bones nearly as well as Madam Pomfrey—"

"And we all know you're not nearly stupid enough to try, unlike another teacher." Harry said as Lupin gave him a confused look, but seeing the looks the others were wearing from Harry's statement, he decided to merely press on.

"Anyways, I think it's best if we just strap your leg up until we can get you to the hospital wing. Once you're there, I'll return here. Or before, if I'm caught in the moon and transform." Lupin finished as he hurried over to Ron, bent down, tapped Ron's leg with his wand, and muttered, "_**Ferula**_".

Bandages spun up Ron's leg, strapping it tightly to a splint. Lupin helped him to his feet; Ron put his weight gingerly on the leg and didn't wince.

"That's better." Ron said, "Thanks, Professor. Thanks, Harry. And see, I didn't have a problem with you being a werewolf… Umm… anymore." Ron said as everyone rolled their eyes at his attempt to lighten the situation.

"Sorry about the leg, kid." Black said as Lupin scoffed.

"There's nothing seriously wrong with him." Lupin said, glancing down at Ron's bandaged leg, "You were just a little… over-enthusiastic."

"_**Stupefy**_" Snape said causal as he snatched his wand back from Black and pointed it directly between Pettigrew's eyes, "No need to have any more unfortunate problems from our not being thorough, right?"

"Right…" Harry agreed grudgingly, not liking Snape's hidden tone of smugness that only other Black seemed to pick up on.

"And two of us should be chained to this filth." Black said, nudging the unconscious Pettigrew with his toe, "Ya know, just to make sure."

"I'll do it. At least until we're up to the castle." Lupin said calmly.

"And me." Ron said savagely, limping forward as he glared at the downed man.

Black conjured heavy manacles from thin air; soon Pettigrew was upright again, left arm chained to Lupin's right, right arm to Ron's left. Ron's face was set as he seemed to have taken Scabbers' true identity as a personal insult. Crookshanks leapt lightly off the bed and led the way out of the room, his bottlebrush tail held jauntily high as the cat purred a tune to itself as though it had accomplished the mission of a lifetime.

And Harry. Harry couldn't stop his head from hurting, or from thinking that while things began to quiet, they would not stay so for long…


	14. The Dog, Wolf, and Dragon Part 2

**IMPORTANT A/N****:**_** Okay, just to stop the on flood of confusion on everyone's part, the first part with Toshiro and Shuhei is exactly 10 minutes after Snape left them. This makes the scene 20 minutes after Lupin discovered Peter Pettigrew on the map, and went after Harry and the other. That makes it a full hour after Harry and the others went to go see Hagrid.**_

_**So, by that account, the scenes in the start of this chapter with Toshiro and Shuhei are an hour after Harry and the others have gone to see Hagrid. That sets it at the same time that Ron was being dragged down the tunnel by Sirius. Get it? The scenes with Toshiro and Shuhei take place just before Harry, Hermione, and Ron are in the Shrieking Shack.**_

_**Also, as this story is coming to an end within the next ten or less chapters, the chapters might be shorter. I know the next few will be, but don't worry… because there are always… the Sequel… Mwhahaha!**_

_**Hope you enjoy.**_

**Chapter 14: The Dog, Wolf, and Dragon; Part 2**

* * *

><p>"I can't believe that Snape guy left us here… with no food!" Shuhei shouted, again, as he flopped down onto the patch of artificial grass which inhabited the secret training room. Toshiro sat beside him, rolling his eyes as he huffed in annoyance at both his friend's antics and at their constantly growling stomachs.<p>

Hey! They were growing boys! They _needed_ at least _five_ square meals a day!

"Will you shut up, you idiot?" Toshiro snapped as Shuhei's stomach grumbled in protest, "If you're going to complain, then do something about it and find us some food."

"But I can't…"Shuhei whined as he flailed his limbs childishly, "I'm too _hun~gry_!"

Toshiro only sighed again. Professor Snape, as he preferred to be addressed as, had told them to stay put until he had returned with Potter. That trip, as Snape had said, should only have taken 20 minutes at the most.

The truth was, Snape didn't bother to care for them at all. Whenever he was with them alone, it was most conversation about the state of affairs the Soul Society was in and their own personal lives. Normally when they complained about food, bathing, or other basic necessities, Snape would gain a rather uncomfortable look on his face while his eyes would become dull, as though the man were reliving some horrible experience that ruined children for him forever. Then five minutes later, when the gauntly man was out of his trauma-induced trance, he would shift about awkwardly before flash-stepping from the room to find Ms. Sui-Feng, Lord Kuchiki, or Harry-the-kidnapper-Potter. The guy would then promptly return with one of them so could feed and/or care for him and Shuhei as though Snape was the alone uncle who was forced to look after his nephews for a few weeks…

Hey! He had been around the weird Humans a few times with all of Shuhei's crazy schemes and misadventures! He picked up on things!

Toshiro sighed once more, running a hand through his snow-white hair. This was all Harry the Kidnapper's fault! The guy was okay and all, even a bit awkward when dealing with them at first, but it was still his fault. Him and his protecting them from the Gotei 13 by kidnapping and harboring them as, basically, prisoners. The stupid, good-natured, kind-hearted moron should have just handed them over to the Shinigami when he had the chance. Now they were hungry and had no idea where to get food.

"… and that's the plan! Toshiro… Toshiro. Toshiro!"

"What?" Toshiro yelled back as Shuhei flinched back from the level of volume.

"I was telling you the plan to sneak out and get food." Shuhei said as Toshiro groaned.

"No! No way in Hell are we following another one of your stupid plans! They're the reason we're in this situation in the first place!" Toshiro snapped as he pointed a finger in Shuhei's face while the taller boy pouted.

"But this one's really good, you'll see!" Shuhei whined as Toshiro glared at him icily, "Besides, you've followed my plans since we've been kidnapped."

"That was only out of boredom and desperation. I was still not used to the whole idea of being kidnapped, so that was no fault of my own." Toshiro retorted as Shuhei blinked in confusion at Toshiro's intelligent defense, "Besides, your more recent plans are the reason we're no longer allowed out of this room into Professor Snape's office, why he wouldn't teach us anything… oh, and why we can't get out of these faux bodies now. All thanks to your ingenious plans!"

Shuhei blinked once more in confusion. Truly, Toshiro Hitsugaya was a boy with far too many smarts to be his friend, "Umm… so… what does faux mean…?"

Toshiro groaned. Shuhei could be really one-dimensional sometimes… "It means fake. As in not real. As in bogus, counterfeit, forged, artificial! As in Gigai! We're stuck in fucking Gigai because of you!"

"Umm… Sorry…" Shuhei said as Toshiro sighed deeply, sprawling out on the green grass. For something artificial, it was really nice and kind of pretty.

Like the real thing…

"It's okay… So, what's this plan?" Toshiro asked as he got back up into a sitting position. Shuhei's eyes lit up as he grinned happily.

"You'll love it! It's brilliant!"

* * *

><p>"I hate this! It's stupid!" Toshiro whispered harshly in Shuhei's ear while tugging at the shirt collar that was threatening to suffocate his Gigai. Why did these wizards have to wear such tight-fitting robes? Why couldn't they be loose and comfortable like the kimonos were back home?<p>

"Hey! You weren't saying that while that old fart and the see-through dead guy were talking to us about the school!" Shuhei hissed right back as Toshiro glared at him.

"They stopped us, you idiot. They also said that first-years, whatever those are, aren't supposed to be out of their dorms at this time. All we need is to find someone to tell us where the kitchens are, get to them, get some food, and then get our asses back to the training room. Simple, right? Get in, get out." Toshiro said as the two continued to sneak about the castle in plain sight.

"Yeah…" Shuhei said as he peeked around the corner, "Oh, how about that guy? He looks like a wimp- I mean… a helpful person."

After slapping Shuhei upside his head, Toshiro peeked around the corner himself, seeing a mousy young boy talking animatedly with a group of others.

All of them with robes of scarlet and gold… Ugh…

"…and it's like Harry said last week. We have to take photos and properly organize the album in order to create an effective pamphlet on the magical commun-"

"Excuse us, but could we ask your help?" a voice behind Colin said as the mousy boy turned to its source.

Behind him stood a kid of about the same height and build of Colin himself. The only difference, a stark contrast at that, was their physical appearance in comparison with one another. The boy's skin was like a healthy pale peach, compared to Colin's own lighter tone. The boy's hair was as white as a frosted glacier, and his eyes were a strange turquoise color, gleaming like the precious stone themselves. Colin, as he reflected in his once-over glance of the boy, merely had mousy brown hair and eyes to match. Colin found himself so plain as he stared at the boy in front of him.

He wished the boy was his reflection. How he would have loved to stand out so much. To have the boy's appearance, or Harry's self-less and caring attitude… To be like them…

Colin shook his head slightly as he gave the other boy, one as tall as Harry (which was much taller than Colin himself or the boy in front of him), a swift look-over. The boy had short black hair and dark grey eyes. The tall one's carefree expression and the annoyed scowl on the smaller boy's face told Colin nearly all he needed to know about the pair.

"Hey, you're a Ravenclaw." one of Colin's group pointed out as he, quite literally, pointed to the small boy's uniform, and indeed it had the blue which was readily identified with the House of Rowena Ravenclaw.

"Umm… Yeah, so? And I do have a name, if you don't mind. It's Toshiro Hitsugaya." the smaller of the pair, Toshiro Hitsugaya, said with his face set like a sheen of ice as he glared slightly.

"Oh… sorry. Umm… you're in Hufflepuff." the same boy in Colin's group, Colin turned to see that it was Luca Caruso (who no one was really sure where he had been sorted as he wore a different uniform and slept in a different dorm whenever he fancied) who had been pointing these obvious things out as he pointed to Hitsugaya's taller companion.

"I'm Shuhei Hisagi… and what the _hell_ is a Hufflepuff?" Shuhei said before his cheerful expression turned perplexed as he pondered what a Hufflepuff was.

"It's some sort of badger or whatnot." Colin said, waving the conversation on with a smile, "Anyways, what could we help you with?"

"Oh, we were wondering where the kitchens were." Toshiro said, looking a bit surprised that Colin was being so readily helpful instead of suspicious.

"Hey, don't the Hufflepuffs room near the kitchens?" Seamus asked as Dean shrugged.

"Just because they're _near_ it, doesn't mean all of them can _find_ the kitchens. I mean, these two must be first-years. Because they're sneaking about even though it's only a little past dusk." Dean pointed out as Seamus nodded.

"So… about that food- I mean, the kitchens." Toshiro said as his cheeks colored at his slip-up. Colin and his group chuckled jovially while Shuhei sent Toshiro a teasing grin.

"Don't worry, we've all been there. Listen, just go up the stairs down this corridor, take a right at the third statue, go down the first flight of stairs, turn left, and just keep going until you reach some doors. From there, the kitchens should be a straight shot." Seamus said as Toshiro nodded before giving a bow of respect and gratitude.

"Thank you very much for your help. Excuse us." Toshiro said politely as he swept away from the group. Shuhei, at seeing the group's confused looks following Toshiro, he too gave a quick bow before rushing after Toshiro's quick stride.

"So wait… did he say right or left at the statue? Toshiro… Toshiro. Toshiro!" Shuhei said as he ran around the corner after said white-haired boy.

"Hmm… Strange kids these days." Seamus said as he watched the pair leave quickly.

"Maybe." Dean said with a shrug, "But at least they were respectful and civil. Unlike most of those Slytherins…"

"We can discuss those two later. Right now, lets get back to the setup of our magical pamphlet for Muggle-borns." Colin said as the others nodded to Harry's unofficial Second-in-Command.

After all, Colin seemed to have grown a backbone _and_ a personality under Harry's wing…

* * *

><p>Harry could, with all the honesty he knew he possessed, say that he had never been a part of a stranger group. Crookshanks was leading the way down the stairs while humming a jaunty tune; Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron went down the stairs next while Harry and Hermione couldn't help but chuckle at them, looking like entrants in a six-legged race for survival. Next came Snape, who with wand rigid in the air, followed them like an armed-guard swooping down stiffly upon the three as his feet barely touched the wooden floorboards and his robes billowed without effect. Sirius Black and Harry both rolled their eyes at the greasy-haired man as Black followed with Harry and Hermione bringing up the rear.<p>

Getting back into the tunnel had proved difficult. Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron had to turn sideways to manage it, with Lupin still having Pettigrew covered with his wand. Harry could see them edging awkwardly along the tunnel in single file while Crookshanks was still in the lead. Harry went right after Black, who looked as though he wouldn't mind having Snape's head bumping his along the low tunnel ceiling. Harry had that if he had knocked Snape out like he had initially planned, then that would happen, and he also got the impression that Black would have made no effort what-so-ever to prevent it.

But then again, when you tried to murder someone before, you probably wouldn't have any quarrels giving the same person brain damage years later…

"You know what this means?" Black said abruptly to Harry as they made their slow progress along the tunnel. Harry nearly jumped in surprise at the fact Black wanted to make small talk while they were moving, but shrugged it off, "Turning Pettigrew in?"

"What? The fact that you'll be free, or the fact that the Ministry of Magic will be in chaos afterward?" Harry asked with a raised brow as Black glanced back at him.

"I get that this most likely isn't the best time, but… You know what, we'll talk when we're out of the tunnel and past the Whomping Willow." Black said.

"That's what I thought." Harry said with a smirk as they continued on their trek.

* * *

><p>No one spoke again until they had nearly reached the end of the tunnel. That was when Harry suddenly realized something.<p>

"Umm… Professor Lupin…" Harry called as Lupin turned awkwardly to him.

"Yes, Harry?" Lupin responded.

"Why did you decide to come? Before you had been so adamant about us not seeing you transform and your not leaving the Shrieking Shack. What gave you the change of heart?" Harry asked as Lupin looked a bit confused, like his mind had clouded, before he shook his head clear.

"I'm still set on not exposing you children to my ghastly transformation, but with Peter here." Lupin said as he jabbed his wand at the animated unconscious body of Peter Pettigrew between Ron and himself that Snape was controlling, "… Well, it'd be safer if there were three fully trained wizards instead of just two; especially two that hold a grudge. If we're lucky, we'll make it to the castle before the moon comes out from behind the mountains. If not, then when I begin to feel… Well, I'll just leave if I see moonlight coming…" Lupin finished, looking trapped between the moon and a hard place.

"We understand." Harry said genuinely. And he did. If he were to turn into some horror-film creature, then he'd run away from his friends at the first signs as well. There was no sense in exposing others to him as a dangerous creature; safe or otherwise.

They reached the end of the tunnel as Crookshanks darted up first, evidently pressing his paw to the knot on the trunk, because Lupin, Pettigrew, and Ron clambered upward without any sound of savaging branches lashing out at the ironclad trio.

Black saw Snape up through the hole with a suspicious look, then stood back for Harry and Hermione to pass.

At long last, all of them were out.

The grounds were very dark now; the only light came from the distant windows of the castle. Without a word, they set off.

"Yeah… Umm..." Black said, looking mildly uncomfortable, "I don't know if anyone ever told you, Harry, but… I'm your godfather."

"Yeah, I knew that." Harry said, waving the statement aside.

"Well… your parents appointed me your guardian." Black said stiffly, "If anything happened to them… Well, they wanted me to... watch over you, so I... was wondering if you'd want to come and... l-live with m-me..."

"Sure." Harry said, shrugging causally, when in reality his mind was buzzing.

He was going to leave the Dursleys… He was going to live with Sirius Black, his parents' best friend…! Harry felt dazed and slightly off-balanced… What would happen when he told the Dursleys he was going to live with the convict they'd seen on television…!

Harry didn't get to think much further than that as he saw Snape stop dead and turn to stare at him in disbelief, "You can't be serious, Potter. Your _Godfather_ here tried to _kill_ _me_."

"I know that, Severus." Harry replied evenly as he saw Snape's eyes twitch in agitation, "So it would be kinda stupid if _you_ had went to live with him. However, he seems to like me, even despite the fact I've mostly just yelled and immobilized him. Besides, you know all about my home life." Harry said casually as Snape rolled his eyes half-heartedly.

Half-hearted because he knew that one's problems at home was _not_ a joke, no matter _who_ it was.

"Oh yes. Like the fact that in addition to being locked in a cupboard when you performed magic, your aunt swings frying pans at your head whenever you mention magic or any other abnormalities. Which, by the way, is also child abuse and attempted murder… like what Black tried to do to me." Snape said as Harry shrugged.

"Quite." Harry said with a smug smile as Snape gave him a deadpan look.

"You're doing this just to annoy me, aren't you?" Snape inquired as Harry's expression didn't change.

"Unlike you, I'm not so petty, but tell me; is it working?" Harry said as Snape turned from him and grumbled lowly under his breath.

"Yeah…" Black said, looking uncomfortable once again, "Listen Harry, you don't have to do anything for my sake. I'd understand if... if..."

Harry waited for the man to finish while Hermione smiled. She might have thought the man was a murder earlier, but since proving his innocence, she could honestly say that she'd be really happy if Harry had a good family with the man once he was cleared officially. The man was one of the last and closest ties Harry had left to his parents, and Hermione desperately wanted that for Harry; she wanted him to have that normality in life for once.

Finally it seemed that Harry couldn't contain himself any longer.

"Have you got a house? When can I move in? Is there a place I can put Hedwig? Is it magical?" Harry asked, firing off questions rapidly as Black turned right around to look at him.

"You really want to?" Black asked slowly, "Y-You're not joking around? You really m-mean it?"

"Yeah, I mean it!" Harry said excitedly as Black's gaunt face broke into the first true smile Harry had seen upon it.

The difference that smile made was startling. It was as though a person ten years younger were shining through the starved mask, and for a moment, Black was recognizable as the man who had laughed at Harry's parents' wedding.

* * *

><p>"One wrong move, Peter…" Lupin said threateningly ahead, his wand was still pointed sideways at Pettigrew's chest. Harry looked up ahead and saw that Pettigrew was slowly regaining consciousness as they moved on.<p>

Silently they tramped through the grounds, the castle lights growing slowly larger. And then -

"What is that?" Hermione observed as Harry and the others stopped to see what she was referring to.

They all turned around to Hermione to see that she was pointing up over the mountain ranges in the distance. There, in the sky! It was a like a firecracker slowly ascending into the skies from up by the mountains.

Then the blue streak exploded outward, shifting the clouds in the sky. There were suddenly dim shadows on the ground. Their party bathed in moonlight as the moon was slowly coming into perfectly rounded view. Everyone slowly turned their heads in horror to Lupin, whose eyes were widest and mouth gaping in self-directed terror.

"Oh dear sweet Merlin, I must run. Quickly! Help me out of these manacles!" Lupin said, not taking his wand off of Pettigrew as Snape rushed forward and shattered the binds with a powerful karate chop.

Remus Lupin, while running back the way they came, had turned pale immediately. Then, a streak of yellow light tripped him. As he fell, he tried hard to get up, but seemed that he couldn't.

"Noooo…" Lupin moaned weakly, "Why now…? How could he have been so stupid? They could have handled it without me…"

Harry could see Lupin's silhouette from where they were. He watched in fascinated horror as he saw that Lupin had gone rigid on the ground. Then his limbs began to shake, as though he were in the middle of a seizure.

"Oh, my —" Hermione gasped, as Black grabbed her and pushed her back toward the castle along with Harry.

"Run." Black whispered harshly, "Run now, and don't look back."

But Harry found that he couldn't run, and Hermione neither. Ron was still chained to Pettigrew as Snape gave Black his wand to keep the rat of a man in check. Lupin suddenly sprang to his feet and thrust out his chest as a strangled scream came from his throat. Snape leapt forward toward Lupin, catching him around the chest and threw him back down the path toward the Whomping Willow.

"Leave it to me — RUN!" Snape shouted as Harry still found himself frozen to the spot.

"_**Stupefy**_!" Black shouted as he stunned Pettigrew. The man collapsed to the ground in a heap and took Ron with him, but Black wasn't finished. Ropes shot out from the tip of the wand and wrapped around Pettigrew once more, replacing the slowly fading ones that Lupin had tied him with.

Harry attention snapped back to Snape and Lupin as there was a terrible snarling noise coming from their direction.

Lupin's head was lengthening… and so was his body. His shoulders were hunching. Hair was sprouting visibly on his face and hands, which were curling into clawed paws. Crookshanks's hair was on end again; he was backing away with narrowed eyes and hissing noises —

As the werewolf reared, snapping its long jaws, Sirius disappeared from Harry's sight. He had transformed. The enormous, bear-like dog was back as it bounded forward. As the werewolf ripped away the manacle around its wrist, the dog seized it about the neck and pulled it backward, away from everyone else as Snape stood off to the side while he allowed Sirius to handle the situation. The two beasts were locked, jaw to jaw, claws ripping at each other.

Harry stood there, transfixed by the sight, too intent upon the battle to notice anything else. It was Hermione's scream that alerted him. Harry whirled on the spot as he saw a shadowed and cloaked figure with it's fist extended, and Hermione crumbled on the ground. Harry rushed forward, but he suddenly cut his vision to the side. It was a distraction! He turned on heel to see that Pettigrew had an eye peeked open as he snaked his fingers around Lupin's dropped wand. Ron was groping the ground, trying to get to Hermione as Harry glanced back to see the cloaked figure gone. However, in that mere second he had glanced away, there was a bang, and a burst of light. As Harry turned back, Ron lay motionless on the ground.

"Get Pettigrew, you- agh!" Crookshanks yelled as he pounced toward Pettigrew with claws at the ready, but with another bang, Crookshanks flew backward through the air and back to the earth in a heap, "Dammit… don't let him get away…" Crookshanks said weakly before collapsing into unconsciousness.

"Expelliarmus!" Harry yelled quickly, pointing his own wand at Pettigrew; Lupin's wand flew high into the air and out of sight, "Stay where you are!" Harry shouted, running forward.

…But he too late, Pettigrew had transformed. Harry saw his bald tail whip through the manacle on Ron's outstretched arm and heard a scurrying through the grass.

Harry, in fury, tossed his wand aside as he began firing off Kido-blasts into the graases where he figured Pettigrew was. The only thing that made him stop was sudden a howl and a rumbling growl. Harry turned to see the werewolf taking a twist-kick from Snape before the beast began to take flight; galloping into the forest.

"Sirius, he's gone! Pettigrew transformed!" Harry yelled as he rushed toward Black and Snape.

Skidding to a stop and dropping to his knees, Harry examined Black quickly. He saw blood, seeing that Black was bleeding; there were gashes across his muzzle and back, but as Harry's words processed to him, Black scrambled up again, and in an instant, the sound of his paws faded to silence as he pounded away across the grounds in search of the rat. As Harry was about to go with him, Snape appeared in front of him with his arm outstretched, stopping him.

"Your friends lives are more important! Revive them and get them out of here! I'll search the grounds for Lupin!" Snape said sternly as Harry nodded, as it was no time for arguing or petty talk.

* * *

><p>Harry quickly shook Hermione awake and before long they both dashed over to Ron to check on him.<p>

"What did he do to him?" Hermione whispered.

Ron's eyes were only half-closed, his mouth hung open; he was definitely alive, they could hear him breathing, but he didn't seem to recognize them.

"I don't know…" Harry breathed, looking around desperately. Black and Lupin both gone… they had no one but Snape, who, while nowhere in sight, Harry knew was keeping an eye out for either Pettigrew or Lupin's werewolf form.

"We'd better get Ron up to the castle and tell someone." Harry said, pushing his hair out of his eyes, trying to think straight, "Come on—"

But then, from beyond the range of their vision, they heard a yelping, a whining: a dog in pain…

"Sirius…" Harry muttered, staring into the darkness.

He had a moment's indecision, but there was nothing they could do for Ron at the moment, and by the sound of it, Black was in trouble —

Harry set off at a run, Hermione right behind him as he didn't bother to tell her to stay back. The yelping seemed to be coming from the ground near the edge of the lake. They pelted toward it, and Harry, running flat out, felt the cold; realizing what it must mean.

"_Dementors… I'm ready this time_." Harry thought as his face mouth thinned and his eyes flashed with spiritual power, though he couldn't stop the shiver that ran up and down his spine.

The yelping stopped abruptly as they reached the lakeshore, and they saw why. Sirius had turned back into a man. He was crouched on all fours, his hands over his head.

"Nooo…" Black moaned, "Nooo… please…"

And then Harry saw them as he swallowed the lump in his throat. Dementors, at least a hundred of them, gliding in a black mass around the lake toward them. He spun around, the familiar, icy cold penetrating his insides, fog starting to obscure his vision; more were appearing out of the darkness on every side; they were encircling them…

"Hermione, think of something happy!" Harry yelled, raising his palms toward the sky while blinking furiously to try and clear his vision. Harry shook his head to rid it of the faint screaming that had started inside —

"_I'm going to live with my godfather. I'm leaving the Dursleys_." Harry thought, trying to use positive thoughts to his aid even without his wand as he began firing off any destructive Kido he knew.

Black gave a shudder, rolled over, and lay motionless on the ground, pale as death.

"_He'll be all right. I'm going to go and live with him_."

"Hermione, help me! _**Shakkaho**_!" Harry shouted as Hermione shakily raised her wand, her eyes wide with fear.

"E-Expecto…" Hermione whispered, "E-Expecto… expecto…"

But she couldn't do I as the Dementors were closing in, barely ten feet from them. Hermione finally collapsed seconds later while the dark creatures were forming a solid wall around her and Harry, drawing closer still…

"Yaahh!" Harry yelled as he finally allowed his Spiritual Pressure to flood him and the are, driving the Dementors back for a short while before they began to push through the dense energy, "_**Shakkaho**_! _**Byakurai**_! _**Sokotsu**_! _**Hyoga Seiran**_!" Harry yelled, trying to blot the screaming from his ears, "_**Expecto Patronum**_!"

From his palms came forth a thin wisp of silver, which hovered like mist before him. He was alone… completely alone… Harry felt his knees hit the cold grass. Fog began clouding his eyes. With a huge effort, he fought to remember… Sirius was innocent… innocent…

"Yeah… we'll be okay… I'm going to live with him…" Harry thought as he struggled to stay up, to protect Hermione and Sirius.

"Expecto… Patronum!" Harry gasped out.

By the feeble light of his formless Patronus, Harry saw a Dementor halt, very close to him. It couldn't walk through the cloud of silver mist Harry had conjured. A dead, slimy hand slid out from under the cloak. It made a gesture as though to sweep the Patronus aside.

"No… no…" Harry gasped, feeling his power wan from him slowly and steadily, "He's innocent… you bastards… E-Expecto… Expecto Patronum…"

He could feel them watching him, hear their rattling breath like an evil wind around him. The nearest Dementor seemed to be considering him. Then it raised both its rotting hands…

… and lowered its hood.

Where there should have been eyes, there was only thin, gray scabbed skin, stretched blankly over empty sockets. But there was a mouth… a gaping, shapeless hole, sucking the air with the sound of a death rattle.

A paralyzing terror filled Harry so that he couldn't move or speak. His Patronus flickered and died. White fog was blinding him. He had to fight… Expecto Patronum… he couldn't see… and in the distance, he heard the familiar screaming…

"_**Expecto Patronum**_!" a voice in the distance cried out as Harry groped in the mist for Sirius, and found his arm… They weren't going to take him away from him again…

But a pair of strong, clammy hands suddenly attached themselves around Harry's neck. They were forcing his face upward… He could feel its breath… It was going to get rid of him first… He could feel its putrid breath… His mother was screaming in his ears… She was going to be the last thing he ever heard —

"**Turn All Things in the Universe to Ash**, _**Ryujin Jakka**_!" a powerful, sage-like old voice said calm as blazing heat rolled and licked across Harry's skin. Harry felt his skin boil, as though he were quickly roasted atop a pike like a pig.

"Get away from them! Get away from him! Get away! _**Get away**_!" a young voice that sounded familiar yelled. Then came a sudden cold spell that seemed to succeed the heat that felt of the sun. The cold was so chilling that Harry felt his feeble body shiver as snow began to fall atop him.

And then, there was light. A light so bright from across the lake that Harry felt at peace as he saw the silvery light in the distance growing brighter and brighter… He felt himself fall forward onto the grass… Facedown, too weak to move, sick and shaking, Harry opened his eyes the best he could. The Dementor must have released him as the blinding light was illuminating the grass around him… The screaming had stopped, the dark cold of the Dementor was ebbing away… Something or someone was driving the Dementors back… Whatever it was, it was circling around him, Sirius Black, and Hermione like some guardian protector… The Dementors, they were being driven away… They were leaving…

The air was warm again…

And with every ounce of strength he could muster, Harry raised his head a few inches from the grass to see their savior. Blinking away the exhaustion that was quickly creeping on him, Harry saw an animal amid the light, galloping away across the lake, a pillar of flames that stood mightily like a godly torch, and a beautiful dragon of ice reigning around the flame pillar… Eyes blurred with sweat, Harry tried to make out what the creature was that was running away, but it was just so bright… It was as bright as a unicorn…

Fighting to stay conscious, Harry watched it canter to a halt as it reached the opposite shore. For a moment, Harry saw, by its brightness, three figures that stood like solemn guards welcoming the animal back… one of the figures, the middle one was raising their hand to pat it… it was a male… someone who looked strangely familiar… but it couldn't be…

Harry didn't understand as he saw the creature join the dragon in dancing about the tower of flames. Then, one of the figures disappeared and reappeared in front of him. The hems of robes, colored of white and black billowed as they came to a stop in front of Harry. The figure- the person over him bent down and placed a hand in his face. Then… he couldn't think anymore. Harry felt the last of his strength leave him as the hand stayed in his face, waving only slightly once as his head hit the ground. Harry didn't know consciousness anymore as it was then that he fainted, the figure over him grunting as he turned away in the last seconds of Harry's awareness.

"How regrettable…" the figure said as Harry's mind knew no more.


	15. Unexpected! The Shadows Finally Drop!

_**Alright, it's now time for the explanations to start coming into play like a flash flood, and for the puzzles to finally be solved. Questions will be answered, enemies will be unmasked, and great allies will be discovered.**_

_**This part of the story I'd like to call the **_**Solved and Absolved Arc**_**. It is where all that stuff I stated before will happen, along with the unveiling of some other cool stuff that you guys (and gals) have been anticipating since I started dropping hints about them. Like, I'm not sure if you have, but on my homepage, you'll see a Zanpakuto list. On that list are some of the Zanpakuto that you, my wonderful readers, have been looking forward to from characters you've wanted and a few unexpected ones. So, if you haven't checked out the list, do so now before reading the chapter so you'll want to read it even more just to find out who will be releasing their Zanpakuto this arc.**_

_**I bet ya just can't wait, huh?**_

_**Oh well, hope you enjoy.**_

**Chapter 15: Unexpected! The Shadows Finally Drop!**

* * *

><p>"This is rather shocking business… Rather shocking indeed… It's a miracle that none of them died… I've never heard anything of the like… By Thor's thunder, it was lucky you were there, Snape…"<p>

"Thank you, Minister."

"Order of Merlin, Second Class, I'd say. First Class, if I can wangle it!"

"Thank you very much indeed, Minister, but that won't be necessary."

"Nasty cut you've got there… Black's work, I suppose?"

"As a matter of fact, it was Potter, Weasley, and Miss Granger, Minister…"

"No!"

"Black had bewitched them, I saw it immediately. A Confundus Charm, to judge by their behavior. They seemed to think there was a possibility he was innocent, and… I believe they might have been onto something, but with the bewitching and all… They weren't responsible for their actions, though. On the other hand, their interference did not permit Black to escape… They obviously thought they were going to catch Black single-handed, and they nearly did if not for those dreaded Dementors at the last moment. Though had they succeeded, it would have only served to make Potter's head all the more swollen by his ego. I should hope this rule-breaking and blatant disregard for life does not go unpunished."

"Ah, well, Snape… Harry Potter, you know… we've all got a bit of a blind spot where he's concerned."

"And yet — is it good for him to be given so much special treatment? Personally, I try and treat him like any other student. And any other student would be detained for their actions or even suspended… at the very least. He led his friends into such danger. Consider it, Minister; against all school rules… after all those precautions put in place for his protection… out-of-bounds at night, consorting with a known registered werewolf and a murderer… and I have reason to believe he has been visiting Hogsmeade illegally too —"

"Well, well… we shall see, Snape, we shall see… The boy has undoubtedly been foolish…"

Harry lay listening with his eyes tight shut, but rolling known the less. He felt very groggy and stiff. The words he was hearing seemed to be traveling very slowly from his ears to his brain, so that it was a bit difficult to understand… His limbs felt like lead; his eyelids too heavy to lift… He wanted to lie there, on the comfortable bed, forever…

"What amazes me most is the behavior of the Dementors… you've really no idea what made them retreat, Snape?"

Snape seemed to pause at that question, most likely reflecting on what he could spin in his tale to make Harry look bad.

"… No, Minister… by the time I had come around, they were already heading back to their positions at the grounds entrances and beyond the barrier…"

"Extraordinary. And yet Black, and Harry, and the girl —"

"All unconscious by the time I reached them." Snape said quickly, "I bound and gagged Black, naturally, conjured stretchers, and brought them all straight back to the castle."

There was a pause in the conversation as Harry's brain seemed to be moving a little faster, and as it did, a gnawing sensation grew in the pit of his stomach…

Harry opened his eyes.

Everything was slightly blurred. Somebody had removed his glasses. He was lying in the dark hospital wing. At the very end of the ward, he could make out Madam Pomfrey with her back to him, bending over a bed. Harry squinted as he saw Ron's red hair visible beneath Madam Pomfrey's arm.

Harry moved his head over on the pillow. In the bed to his right lay Hermione, moonlight falling across her bed as he saw that her eyes were open too. She looked petrified, and when she saw that Harry was awake, pressed a finger to her lips, then pointed to the hospital wing door. It was ajar, and the voices of Cornelius Fudge and Snape were coming through it from the corridor outside.

Madam Pomfrey came walking briskly up the dark ward to Harry's bed as he turned to look at her, and then paled comically. The medical-witch was carrying the largest block of chocolate he had ever seen in his entire life. It looked like a small boulder, and Harry was sure that a normal teen would have cried tears of joy at the sight of it while he was slightly afraid for his health.

"Ah, you're awake!" Madam Pomfrey said briskly as she placed the chocolate on Harry's bedside table and began breaking it apart with a small hammer. Harry's head swooned as he could already feel the sugar in his system just from the sight of it.

"How's Ron?" Harry and Hermione as in unison as Madam Pomfrey gave them each a gray look.

"He'll live." Madam Pomfrey said grimly as she continued to break up the chocolate, "As for you two, you'll be staying here until I'm satisfied you're — Potter, what do you think you're doing?"

Harry gave her a look as he was sitting up, putting his glasses back on, and picking up his wand.

"I need to see the Headmaster, right away. It's very important." Harry said as he fought against the weight of his own body to move about freely. Madam Pomfrey gave him a slightly pitying look, but then she smiled slightly.

"Potter…" Madam Pomfrey said soothingly, "It's all right. They've caught Sirius Black. He's locked away upstairs. The Dementors will be performing the kiss any moment now —"

"WHAT?" Harry shouted as he didn't care about the weight of his body while he jumped up out of bed with Hermione doing the same.

Unfortunately, his shout had been heard in the corridor outside. The next second, Cornelius Fudge and Snape had entered the ward looking startled and annoyed.

"Harry? Harry, what's this?" Fudge said, looking vaguely agitated, "You should be in bed. Has he had any chocolate?" Fudge asked Madam Pomfrey anxiously.

"Minister, listen!" Harry said, "Sirius Black's innocent! Peter Pettigrew faked his own death years ago and has been hiding as a rat! We saw him tonight! You can't let the Dementors do that kissing thing to Sirius, he's —"

But Fudge was shaking his head with a small smile on his face.

"Harry, Harry, my boy… you're very confused, you've been through a dreadful ordeal, lie back down, now, we've got everything under control…"

"No, you _haven't_!" Harry yelled, "You've got the wrong man!"

"Minister, listen, please," Hermione said; she had hurried to Harry's side and was gazing imploringly into Fudge's face.

"I saw him too. It was Ron's rat, he's an Animagus, Pettigrew, I mean, and —"

"You see, Minister?" said Snape. "Confunded, both of them… Black's done a very good job on them…"

"WE'RE NOT CONFUNDED, DAMMIT!" Harry roared.

"Mr. Potter!" Madam Pomfrey admonished as Harry didn't back down, "Minister! Professor! I must insist that you leave. Potter is my patient, and he should not be distressed!"

"I'm not distressed, I'm trying to tell them what happened!" Harry said furiously, "If they'd just listen —"

But Madam Pomfrey suddenly stuffed a large chunk of chocolate into his mouth to keep him quiet. He choked as the med-witch seized the opportunity to force him back onto the bed.

"Now, please, Minister, these children need care. Please leave." Madam Pomfrey said gently as Fudge and Snape turned to leave the room.

* * *

><p>The door opened again, just as Fudge and Snape were about to leave. It was Professor Dumbledore. Harry swallowed his mouthful of chocolate with great difficulty and got up again.<p>

"Professor Dumbledore, Sirius Black —"

"For heaven's sake!" Madam Pomfrey said hysterically, "Is this a hospital wing or not? Headmaster, I must insist —"

"My apologies, Poppy, but I need a word with Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger." Dumbledore said calmly, "I have just been talking to Sirius Black —"

"I suppose he's told you the same fairy tale he's planted in Potter's mind?" Snape spat with a roll of his eyes, "Something about a rat, and Pettigrew being alive —"

"That, indeed, was Mr. Black's story, Severus." Dumbledore said, surveying Snape closely through his half-moon spectacles. Snape and he exchanged a hard long look before Snape scowled deeply.

"And does my evidence count for nothing?" Snape snarled, "Peter Pettigrew was not in the Shrieking Shack, nor did I see any sign of him on the grounds."

"But you did, Professor!" Hermione said earnestly, looking greatly confused at the same time, "You arrived in time to hear it all You were under Harry's —"

"Ms. Granger, HOLD YOUR TONGUE!" Snape snapped loudly as Hermione looked stricken. Harry felt his blood blood at the hurt and confused expression on Hermione's face from Snape outburst. He understood that Snape didn't want Hermione exposing his cloak for whatever reason, but that didn't mean he had to explode on his best femal friend like he did.

"Now, Snape." Fudge said, looking deeply startled along with Madam Pomfrey, "The young lady is disturbed in her mind, we must make allowances —"

"I would like to speak to Harry and Hermione alone, if you will." Dumbledore said abruptly, "Cornelius, Severus, Poppy — please leave us."

"H-Headmaster!" Madam Pomfrey sputtered, "They need treatment, they need rest —"

"And this cannot wait." Dumbledore said, "I must insist. Please, Poppy."

Madam Pomfrey pursed her lips for a moment, before she strode away into her office at the end of the ward, slamming the door behind her. Fudge consulted the large gold pocket watch dangling from his waistcoat.

"The Dementors should have arrived by now." Fudge said, pocketing the watch, "I will go and meet them. Dumbledore, I'll see you upstairs."

He crossed to the door and held it open for Snape, but Snape hadn't moved.

"You surely don't believe a word of Black's story?" Snape whispered loudly, his eyes fixed on Dumbledore's face.

"I wish to speak to Harry and Hermione alone." Dumbledore repeated.

Snape took a step toward Dumbledore. "Sirius Black showed he was capable of murder at the age of sixteen." Snape breathed, "You haven't forgotten that, Headmaster? You haven't forgotten that he once tried to kill me?"

"My memory is as good as it ever was, Severus…" Dumbledore said quietly as Harry noticed the twinkle in the man's eyes grow dim.

Snape turned on his heel and marched through the door Fudge was still holding. Just as the door was about to close behind them, Dumbledore turned back to it, looking as though he had changed his mind at the last moment.

"Severus, you may stay. I wish to consult you on this matter as well, since you arrived to save young Mr. Potter and Ms. Granger along with Mr. Weasley." Dumbledore said, his voice somewhat hoarse, as though his throat had gone dry, and quiet, though in the silence of the hospital wing it still managed to carry.

Snape sneered at the Headmaster before marching back in, slamming the door behind him and in the face of the Minister of Magic.

* * *

><p>Dumbledore turned back to Harry and Hermione, both bursting into speech at the same time when he did.<p>

"Professor, Black's telling the truth! We saw Pettigrew, he escaped when Professor Lupin turned into a werewolf, and then —"

"— he's a rat —"

"— Pettigrew's front paw, I mean, finger, he cut it off —"

"— Pettigrew attacked Ron last, it wasn't Sirius. Sirius only mangled his leg —"

But Dumbledore held up his hand to stem the flood of explanations just as Snape got to his side.

"It is your turn to listen, and I beg you will not interrupt me, because there is very little time." Dumbledore said quietly with a glance at Snape, "There is not a shred of proof to support Black's story, except your word… and the word of two 13 year-old wizards and a Muggle-born witch will not convince anyone of its authenticity. A street full of eyewitnesses swore under law that they saw Sirius Black murder Peter Pettigrew. I myself gave evidence to the Ministry that Sirius had been the Potters' Secret-Keeper… having been in on the plan to hide them at their summer cottage."

"Professor Lupin can tell you —" Harry said, unable to stop himself

"I doubt that would be much help even if he wasn't transformed at the moment." Snape said bitterly as Dumbledore sighed heavily, reluctantly nodding in agreement.

"Yes, Professor Lupin is currently deep in the forest, and unable to tell anyone anything of this incident. By the time he is human again, it will be too late, and Sirius will be worse than dead. I might add that werewolves are also so mistrusted by most of our kind that his support will count for very little and the fact that he and Sirius are old friends. Well…"

"But —" Hermione breathed as Dumbledore raised his hand.

"Little time, I trust you both remember. Now, listen to me, Harry. It is too late, you understand me? You must see that Professor Snape's version of events is far more convincing than yours."

"But, and excuse me, Professor, you hate Sirius." Hermione said desperately, casting an apologetic look at Snape, who scoffed, "And we understand why, but —"

"Regardless, young Ms. Granger, Sirius Black has not acted like an innocent man would. He has escaped from prison, attacked the Fat Lady, entered Gryffindor Tower with a knife and the intent to kill. I'm afraid that without Peter Pettigrew, alive or dead, we have no chance of overturning Sirius's sentence. He will undoubtedly be…"

Dumbledore trailed off, and Harry looked depressed as he ever could. He now knew what his mercy had cost the world and he felt the guilt overtake him.

"You're attack of mercy aside, Potter. This is not your fault." Snape said, looking rather reluctant and slightly ill with himself, "Pettigrew's escape was planned, and there was nothing any of us could have done to stop it."

"But if I —"

"No, Potter, you did the right thing. Your mother, and… your filthy bastardous father… would be very proud." Snape said, looking slightly green as he choked out the sentiment, and Harry couldn't help but smile at that.

"Thanks, Professor…" Harry said, turning to Dumbledore with a raised brow now that he felt calmer about things, "You believe us. Right, sir?"

"Yes… Yes, I do, Harry." Dumbledore said quietly, "But I have no power to make other men see the truth, or to overrule the Minister of Magic…"

Harry stared up into the grave face of Albus Dumbledore and felt as though the ground beneath him were falling away sharply. He had grown used to the idea that Dumbledore could solve… well, _anything_. He had expected Dumbledore to pull some amazing solution out of thin air.

But no… their last hope and all hope for Sirius were gone…

"I wish I could though. Why, what we need…" Dumbledore said slowly, and his light blue eyes moved from Harry to Hermione, staring at the girl intently, "What we need is more time."

"But, we don't —" Hermione began, but then an idea seemed to bop her as then her eyes became very round and wide, "Oh!"

"_So she _has_ been messing with time all year then, and Dumbledore knew it all along_…" Harry thought, looking over at Hermione with a critical gaze.

"Now, pay close attention, all of you." Dumbledore said, speaking very low, and very clearly as he cast a glance at the three people crowded around him, "Sirius is locked in Professor Flitwick's office on the seventh floor. Thirteenth window from the right of the West Tower. If all goes well, you will be able to save more than one innocent life tonight. But remember this, both of you _especially_: you must _not_ be seen. Miss Granger, you know the law. You know what is at stake… _You must not be seen_." Dumbledore said, stressing his last lines especially as Harry didn't have a clue what the law was around fooling with time.

He also didn't get to ask as Dumbledore had turned on his heel, looking back as he reached the door.

"I am going to lock you in. It is…" Dumbledore consulted his watch, "It is five minutes to midnight. Miss Granger, three full turns should do it. Good luck."

"Good luck?" Harry repeated as the door closed behind Dumbledore, staring at it incredulously, "And three turns? What's he talking about? What are we supposed to do with three turns?"

But when Harry looked to Hermione for the answer, he saw that Snape was standing quite close to her and that Hermione was fumbling with the neck of her robes, pulling from beneath them a very long, very fine silver chain.

"Harry, come here." Hermione said urgently, "Quickly!"

"Alright, alright." Harry said as he moved toward her, completely bewildered by her suddenly snappish attitude.

She was holding the chain out. He saw a tiny, sparkling hourglass hanging from it.

"Here —"

She had thrown the chain around his neck too as Snape grabbed the both of them by their shoulders harshly.

"Ready?" she said breathlessly, probably from the pain as Harry could feel Snape's fingers digging into the skin beneath his shirt.

"What are we doing?" Harry said, completely lost.

"We don't have time to explain right now, Harry —"

"You'll explain it now, or else nothing will get done." Harry said as Hermione sighed.,

"We're going to go backward in time. This is a Time-turner. Each turn brings you back an hour and it places you wherever you were at the time. We'll go back to before we entered Hagrid' Hut so we can change time and help out Sirius." Hermione said, her mouth working so fast that some of her speech was slurred.

It was a good thing Harry was paying such close attention or else he would have missed it all.

"Four turns." Harry said as Hermione gave him a look.

"Harry, we don't have —"

"I said four turns, Hermione. The extra hour isn't just for show. We'll need it. I have a feeling it'll help explain a lot more than just why Pettigrew escaped." Harry said, his face utterly serious as Snape cleared his throat.

"Four turns, then, Ms. Granger." Snape said, bringing attention to himself as Hermione nodded absently at the pain in her shoulder as Snape held them more tightly.

* * *

><p>Hermione turned the hourglass over four times as the dark ward of hospital wing dissolved. Harry had the sensation that he was Flash-stepping very fast, backward. A blur of colors and shapes rushed past him, his ears pounding. He tried to yell but couldn't hear his own voice —<p>

And then he felt solid ground beneath his feet, and everything came into focus once again.

Harry glanced about, seeing that he was standing next to Hermione with Snape behind them, looking vaguely in pain. Glancing around with a more critical eye, Harry saw that they were in a deserted, yet strangely familiar corridor as a stream of golden sunlight fell across the paved floor from a nearby window. Harry turned wildly to look at Hermione once again, this time to complain.

"This stupid chain of yours is cutting into my neck." Harry said as Hermione huffed, lifting the chain off Harry's neck as her eyes darted around.

"Four hours from midnight makes it eight o'clock. That means the sun will be setting completely in 30 minutes or so. Which means that we're now-"

"Come on! The sun's gonna set soon with you lollygagging." a voice said as Harry whipped his head around toward where it was coming from.

Because that voice sounded like his own…

"Over here!" Hermione said hurriedly as she seized Harry's arm and dragged him back to hide behind the corner. Snape moved behind them quickly as Harry slapped a hand over his mouth to keep himself from gasping aloud.

Moving just beyond the corner they were hiding behind, Harry saw Hermione looking about before she ran back to wherever she had come from while _Hermione_ still had an iron-clad grip on his arm.

"Was that? B-But —"

"Shhh! Listen! It's us!" Hermione whispered harshly, an eye peeking out from behind the corner to see what was going on, "Footsteps across the hall… yes, I think it's us about to hurry through dinner so we can go down to Hagrid's Hut!"

"Are you telling me that we're here behind this wall and in the Great Hall too?" Harry asked in a whisper as Hermione nodded.

"Yes." Hermione said, still sneaking peeks around the corner, "I'm sure it's us. I can faintly hear Colin Creevey asking you about something." Hermione broke off as the sound of doors closing greeted their ears and she relaxed some, "Okay, everyone's in the Great Hall."

Hermione leaned into the wall with relief, still looking desperately anxious, but Harry didn't much care as he had a few questions he wanted answered… Now!

"Where did you get that Time-Tuner? When Ron didn't know why you kept disappearing and such, I asked around for if there were any magics or magical items that could affect time. Daphne Greengrass was very helpful when she told me about Time-Turners." Harry said with his arms crossed, "She said that they were very rarely given to people outside the Department of Mysteries, and that a fully-legal adult witch or wizard was needed to even request a form for one. So the question begs, how did you get one?"

"I got it from Professor McGonagall on our first day back while you had disappeared after the whole Dementor incident. I've been using it all year to get to all my lessons and study more often. Professor McGonagall made me swear I wouldn't tell anyone." Hermione whispered, looking like a scolded child who had stolen from a nearby grocery.

"Why didn't you tell us? We would have kept your secret and maybe even covered for you. Me and Ron haven't been the only ones questioning things." Harry said as Hermione looked up.

"Because I promised. I gave Professor McGonagall my word." Hermione said, looking slightly offended and annoyed, "She had to write all sorts of letters and fill out all manner of forms to the Ministry of Magic so I could have one. She had to tell them that I was a model student, and that I'd never, ever use it for anything except my studies… I've been turning it back so I could do hours over again, that's how I've been doing several lessons at once, see? But… Harry, I don't understand what Dumbledore wants us to do now. Why did he tell us to go back three hours? How's that going to help Sirius?"

"You can't figure this out, Granger?" Snape sneered as he glanced about from behind the wall.

Harry was surprised when Hermione gave Snape an annoyed look, seeming as though she was quite tired of his crap.

"I was just attacked by Dementors and I'm still scared out of my mind that Sirius was going to lose his soul. You will cut me some slack if I can't happen to focus right now with the stress of our bizarre lives." Hermione said defending herself as she jabbed a finger in Snape's chest while the man seemed slightly shocked. Harry stared at her shadowy face, a look he had seen Draco with more than once when the blond was angry with him.

"Don't you dare take that tone with me, child." Snape spat back, getting over his shock, "That is your problem; you like to be a know-it-all but can't see the obvious. You can only take in what you know, and dismiss anything that doesn't fit in with your perfect little logical. Use that brain that others praise you for and think deductively like Potter does. There must be something that happens in the next hour that Dumbledore wants us to change. Think."

Hermione didn't seem to know what to say as she backed away from Snape's tirade. Harry almost felt sorry for her, but stopped himself from doing so. As much as he loved Hermione, Snape was right on this one. Hermione couldn't think with the knowledge she was given if something didn't fit the frame she wanted it to.

"Let's all think on this one. What happens around eight o'clock? I know we were walking down to Hagrid's Hut…" Harry said, trailing off as he sent Snape a glance.

"I was in my office brewing Lupin's potion for the night while looking after…" Snape said as Harry nodded.

"Right. So, this is four hours ago… and we're in the Great Hall. Three hours ago we were walking down to Hagrid's Hut." Harry said, feeling as though he were screwing up his brain in concentration, "What was it that Dumbledore just said…? He said… he said that we could save more than one innocent life… Hermione, we're going to save Buckbeak!"

"But — how will that help Sirius?"

"Granger will you please stop being so one-dimensional." Snape said with a roll of his eyes as Harry ignored the greasy-haired man.

"Dumbledore told us where the window is; the window of Flitwick's office! It's where they've got Sirius locked up! We've got to fly Buckbeak up to that window and rescue Sirius! Sirius can escape on Buckbeak… They can escape together!" Harry said, feeling like a genius for figuring out Dumbledore's vague plan of action so quickly. But from what Harry could see of Hermione's face, she looked almost completely terrified.

"What's wrong, Hermione? Don't you want to save Buckbeak?" Harry asked, his head tilted slightly to the right and his brows furrowed as Hermione nodded, but then shook her head. The poor girl seemed so terribly confused.

"Yes, yes I do, but… if we can manage all that _without_ being seen, it'll be a miracle!"

"Well, we've got to try, haven't we? And it's a good think we've got the extra hour to prepare." Harry said confidently as he stood to full height and walked out into the open, "Come on, let's go."

Harry took hold of Hermione's hand and brought her to his chest. Hermione blushed as Snape and Harry exchanged a silent agreement through a mere glance. There were nothing standing in their way, because they were now working together on a common cause; solving the mystery of why everything had gone wrong.

Hermione's vision swirled and her body felt like it was being pushed forward through a tight tube as she clamped down on Harry. It was like they were moving at the speed of a bullet train, she felt dizzy. But, just as the sensation had started, it ended as quickly. Hermione let go of Harry as soon as it did, lurching backward as she heaved up whatever was in the contents of her stomach into a nearby trash bin.

"The entrance hall." Snape said, stepping forward as Harry stepped right beside him.

"It's deserted." Harry finished as Snape nodded minutely, "That's good though. We need to reach someone who'll be able to help us. I'll go for Soi Fon and Byakuya, along with the others. What'll you do?"

"I'll be going to see myself. Right now, I'm locked in my own personal brewing chamber and will be so for the next hour. I want to know what went wrong with my potion." Snape said, his face sneering tightly as he and Harry nodded to one another before moving into action.

* * *

><p>Hermione felt the world around her go from normal to blurred in less than the second Harry had appeared at her side. It was very unnerving, moving as fast as they were; mostly because they were moving even <em>faster<em> than last time. However, this time she didn't clench her eyes shut as she had before. No, this time she watched as Harry seemed to walk at the speed of sound while all the world around him moved so slow that it all seemed to move quicker than lightning. Hermione figured whatever spell Harry was using to move so fast must have tired him greatly, mostly because she saw sweat begin to form on his forehead, his breathing become more and more irratic.

That was when they stopped. Harry unceremoniously dropped Hermione to the floor beside him while he, himself, dropped to one knee while panting. He had never carried someone while still in his body like he had Hermione. The first and only other time he had done so was with Toshiro and Shuhei, though that time he had just been in Soul Form and was still running on the adrenaline of battle when he made his mad-dash to Hogwarts castle. Even that time he had been dead tired, but all the shocking situations had left him with some energy to carry on until he made it to bed; where he sleep the night and day away.

"Harry, are okay?" Hermione asked, concern etched into her features as Harry glanced up at her. She stood, hunched over him as he rose from the floor. It made no sense to look weak in front of Hermione, especially when he was about to expose her to people they basically crushed weakness with their very presence.

"I'm fine. Listen Hermione," Harry said, gazing deeply into Hermione's eyes as he made sure he had her full attention, "what I'm about to reveal to you is not exactly a secret, but it's big. It's huge! You have to promise me that you'll follow my lead, not speak unless spoken to, and that you won't do anything to put yourself in danger. You followed me up to the Third Floor with Fluffy, you risked yourself to get me the information on the Basilisk, and you followed me into a literal frenzy of Dementors. You've done beautifully. So, with all that in mind, I'm telling you this with all the love and friendship I can muster: don't open your God-forsaken mouth."

Hermione found herself almost stepping back physically from the blow to her feelings that Harry had just delivered. Okay, she could admit to be a… little narrow-minded when it came to other people's views. And she could freely admit to herself that she was… a bit of a bossy boots when it came to getting her way. Oh, and she could even say that she spoke too quickly and far to much when she was nervous, but did Harry have to be so… blunt? She was a girl; she had feelings. He had to respect that, dammit!

"Okay…" Hermione muttered quietly as Harry hugged her.

"Please understand, I don't want you to die a painful death because you don't understand what you're getting yourself into." Harry whispered in her ear as she felt herself blush.

Did he have to be so intimate with his close friends as well as blunt? It was rather… well, she didn't wish to say, or even think it.

Harry took a hold of Hermione's hand as he chose to walk the rest of the way to the Seventh Floor Mission Room. He glanced back at her, seeing that her cheeks were flushed as he raised a brow. He really hoped she wasn't getting sick on him, because he was sure Mayuri would just love to examine the common cold in a human girl.

Yeah, the guy was just that obsessed with science.

"What is this? I've never seen this door here before." Hermione said as she looked at her hand intermingled with Harry's.

"That's because you've been slowly gaining the ability to." Harry said as Hermione's brows furrowed in confusion.

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked as Harry dropped her hand. They had already wasted five minutes, they couldn't afford to waste much more.

"This year, ever since I was attacked by that Dementor on the train here, I've been able to see abnormal spirits and other things as well; including this door." Harry said as Hermione listened intently, "I met some people, Soul Reapers, who told me that I've unlocked my Spiritual Power, which is like magic, but far more raw and intense, though that's by my own word and not a real observation by a true scientist. Anyways, they've helped me to unlock it completely, and then to suppress it with this device." Harry said, taking out his Soul Badge as he tossed it to Hermione. Hermione examined the thing, finding nothing unusual about it, "The truth is; no normal person can see that, not even most wizards. The reason you can see it, and some others we know can, is because before I had that device, my Spiritual Powers were effecting your own undeveloped magical and untapped Spiritual Potential. It unlocked your own powers slowly but surely the longer I left my powers unchecked."

"… That night the Firebolt was taken…" Hermione concluded, taking an unconscious step back at the memory, "You were angry and that was why Ron and I felt the air around us constrict… it was you and your power…"

"Yes…" Harry admitted shamefully, head bowed as he couldn't look his friend in the eye, "I had been subconsciously keeping my powers in check thanks to my Dementor-repelling lessons, but that night… I was just so hurt that no one trusted my word and that… Listen, Hermione, I am forever sorry-"

"No, no!" Hermione said, forcing herself to step to Harry, "You were right, I should have trusted you and admitted that I was wrong. I was just so worried about you."

The two stood in silence for a long moment before Harry pressed on, "Anyways, after that, I sort of went through this training to become a Soul Reaper to further keep my power in check, and then I was given that wooden badge. With it, I don't have to hold back while it's within a certain radius of my Spiritual Pressure. However, I also became a Soul Reaper to further protect you and everyone else I love from danger."

"I'm sorry, but… you love me…? Me?" Hermione interrupted with a dumbfound expression, "I'm just a bookworm. A Mud-"

"If you say that stupid thing now, I promise I'll leave you out here." Harry said as Hermione, not knowing why her curiosity took hold of her, shut her mouth, "Now then, where was I? Oh, I remember! Like I was saying, I became a Soul Reaper and learned to control the supposedly awesome power which I possess. All of that brings us here." Harry said gesturing to the door as he put a hand on the handle, "Welcome Hermione, to the Hogwarts Soul Reaper Team Mission Room and Command Center."

Hermione wasn't sure if it was just for cheesy effect, or if it was actually something truly amazing, but when the blinding light from the door being slowly opened hit her, her eyes went wide and her mouth slightly agape.

"Wow…" Hermione whispered before she knew no more of consciousness.

* * *

><p>Severus Snape traveled stealthily through the darkness of the dungeons. It was nothing for him to slip past the wondering children and teens that didn't want to be in the Great Hall. He was, after all, a man akin with darkness in all things and how to use it to his advantage.<p>

Oh yes, Snape was fully aware of what people thought of him. He'd label himself a fool if he wasn't. So with that, it stood to reason that a man such as himself would be on constant guard with such people who believed themselves above him around.

Which was exactly why he, or at least past-him, had his wand pointed at his neck.

"Who are you?" Past-Snape sneered out to himself, like a quiet whisper of death as he glared, "If you're here to steal from me-"

"Why would I steal from you, when I am you." Snape said, showing his faded Dark Mark. Past-Snape didn't even lower his wand a centimeter as he jabbed it into his neck.

"That can be faked. It was before when I was in school and could be now." Past-Snape spat as Snape grit his teeth. With all the sneaking he had to do, he had wasted five minutes since leaving Potter and Granger in the Entrance Hall.

"Can this?" Snape said, holding up his right hand as a crimson ball of Kido hovered just above the palm. Past-Snape raised a brow and his eyes widened slightly, but then narrowed as he jabbed the wand even harder into his neck, hitting a nerve which made Snape loss his concentration and make the Kido fade away into nothingness.

"So you're some spy from the Soul Society. I was wondering when Urahara and his cowardly ilk would come after me for what happened all those years ago." Past-Snape sneered as Snape looked beyond furious.

"Don't you dare compare me to that damnable Kisuke Urahara! I am not so much of a coward as to send a school child into danger while I sit back and wait for the child to solve my own problems, and I damn well wouldn't have make that child believe me his friend just to secretly experiment on the boy! I am not Urahara, and I will not stand to be called such!" Snape yelled furiously as he batted away Past-Snape's wand and bared down on him.

"What did Lily Evans do when she found out about Urahara's manipulating me?" Past-Snape asked quietly once Snape had cooled enough to step back.

"She tried to convince me that he was the scum he truly is… but I- _we_ were young, foolish, blind to the truth. We thought him our friend, a true friend like Lily was, but we turned out to be wrong and it was the first tear in the eventually rift that was our relationship with Lily Evans." Snape said equally as quiet as they both sighed in unison, "One week later, as all those bottled emotions came flooding, we called her a Mudblood, and with that and all else we did to her, she finally stopped trying to help us…"

"She really was lovely…"

"Potter didn't deserve her…" Past-Snape sneered frigidly as he went back to his potion mixing. Snape glanced into the cauldron, taking a finger and dipping it in before he tasted it, "What are you doing? That isn't ready yet. And why are you here anyway? Myself time-traveling; past or future isn't something I'd do… lightly."

"Seven drops of Honey-venom." Snape said, looking down at his finger and then the cauldron, "Just like sugar, but not nearly as detectable as any other potion ingredient. It poisons the mind, and ensnares the senses of a werewolf, causing them a brief moment of confusion before they go on their rampage. So that explains it…"

"What do you mean?" Past-Snape asked, sneering as he too tasted the distinctive properties of said ingredient, "Honey-venom comes from Shigojo flower found in the deepest forests of-"

"West Rukon, otherwise known as Kisuke Urahara's district." Snape finished his past-self's explanation with narrowed eyes and it was destroyed because Hollows would become empowered and enraged through it. The only person in the world to have that accursed vegetation any longer is-"

"Me." they both concluded.

"But I have never used it. I don't even want to look at it." Past-Snape said as Snape nodded.

"Which would be the prime reason a person could have waltzed in here and taken it without our being the wiser." Snape said as Past-Snape glanced about feverishly.

"But who?" Past-Snape muttered.

"That is not for you to worry about. I will deal with that. Just brew a fresh cauldron before it's too late. You have a little under an hour; make it count." Snape said before he stepped to a hidden door, which was magical connected to a another hidden door, the latter of which was in his office.

Snape stepped out of his office door, which was on the complete opposite side from his private potions lab. Walking swiftly, Snape almost broke into a run as he moved to the Slytherin Dorms. There were only a few students in the school that knew of his private potions lab, and had visited him in it since it had needed to be created this year.

One of those students was not who they appeared to be, and Snape had a feeling he knew _exactly_ which one.

* * *

><p>"…and you dared to bring her <em>here<em>? Why shouldn't I take a scalpel to skull right now to examine the brightest of witch of this age that I've heard so much about from you?" an oily voice permeated Hermione's murky consciousness as she slowly came-to.

"…because she's helping me figure all of this out. Time-ravel isn't exactly common as far as I know, and is very strictly regulated within the Wizarding World." Harry's voice, one that she had heard many times in her dreams, said in a slightly fed up tone.

"Well, time-travel is completely illegal to Souls and is punishable by a Level Three imprisonment in Shugo. I've told you about my time in that place." the oily, and somewhat creepy voice drawled as Hermione strained to rise up.

"Yes, you have; in explicit detail. The point here is that I don't care about any of that. Something or someone tried to ruin things, Mayuri. You can't deny that. Everything was going so smoothly, but then- BLAM, everything goes to Hell in a hand basket. I want answers. Can you help us is all I'm asking?" Harry's voice said, growing tight and a little high with hope as Hermione tried with all her mental strength to open her eyes.

If it was not for the steady rise and fall of her own chest, she would have sworn she was dead.

"Sadly, I can not. At least, not by myself." the oily voice, belonging to a Mayuri person, said as it hummed in thought, "I'd need help, and authorization for what I need to help you. Go continue to investigate, Harry. I'll have Byakuya and Soi Fon to meet with the Captains and explain the situation to them. They'll get us the approval we need."

"Thank you, Mayuri." Harry said, his voice sounding truly grateful to what Hermione considered a slime ball of a voice, "… Now can you please un-petrify her. I think she's noticed by now."

"Oh, has she? Interesting, very interesting… I'd like to run a few tests, if you don't-"

"Yes, Mayuri, I do mind; very much so. Now please. Well you do so, I need to see Jushiro… There are some things I want to ask about." Harry said befor Hermione heard steady footsteps echoing further and further away from her.

That was right before she felt something prick her neck, and just like that, her eyes flew open and she jumped up- Only to fall back to whatever she had been laid on as she clutched her hurting head.

"Ow, dammit! Watch it, girl! I'll kill you!" Mayuri yelled, clutching at his own head as he stumbled back from the head-butt the young girl had delivered to his cranium. Dear Spirit King, that had hurt! He felt like his skull was cracked and had been set ablaze as the pain set in.

"Ow, ow, ow! I'm sorry! I… Ow! I didn't mean to!" Hermione said as she held her head. What was the man's skull made from, steel?

"Master Mayuri, you should be more careful. The girl is a rather excitable human from what Mr. Harry Potter has told us of her." a soft, yet melancholy voice said from behind Hermione.

Hermione opened her eyes, which she had shut from pain, to see a vision of loveliness that even she couldn't deny. It was a woman, young too. She looked to be in her early twenties. Slender and youthful, this strange woman had green eyes and blackish-purple hair. Her hair was in slightly parted bangs and pulled back into a long braid.

Hermione stared up into the young woman's expression, which appeared to be an almost permanent melancholic one, and Hermione felt that it would be rather rare to see this beautifully sad woman smile or show any real joy in her distinctive green eyes. Glancing down, Hermione saw that the woman wore a short black kimono that extended mid-thigh with a white _nagajuban_ (or under-kimono, thanks to Hermione's having learned an interest in Eastern culture after meeting the Patil twins for the first time and hoping they could be friends; which they never did) under it. The sleeves of this woman's kimono were not as wide as those worn by most of Eastern culture and the upper parts of the sleeves looked to have been puffed a bit. She did wear a traditional wide white _obi_-sash with a red cord fastening it. In addition, she wore white gloves that cover only the back of her hands and wrists; as well as a dark red choker around her neck.

"Ahh, I see you've come to consciousness as well." Mayuri remarked, scowling at the woman as Hermione stayed silent. Harry had told her not to speak, and now she knew why.

This guy Harry had met with was some kinda mad scientist!

"Yes, Master Mayuri, I have regained consciousness." the young woman said with a respectful bow.

"So have I, Mr. K!" another voice shouted joyously, crazily as Hermione thought as she turned to see who else was around her.

This woman looked just as young as the other, but far more happy for reasons unknown to Hermione. She was a tall woman, with long, thick, shining dark hair. She had thin lips, dark hair long eyelashes, heavy-lidded eyes, and a strong jaw. Hermione rolled her eyes, mentally remarking how the woman had all the classic "great good looks" of a dark woman, but the woman had something gleaming in her dark eyes; insanity. N insanity that threatened to swallow Hermione whole if she stared into them for too long. Hermione turned her gaze from the tall dark woman with a shiver. In those eyes were horrors that Hermione was sure she couldn't bear and sorrows for life that she knew she had felt somewhere along her own short life, though the most prominent of all was the woman's controlled insanity which shone in her eyes like it was what gave her life.

"Ahh, so you are all up and about. Excellent, then I believe it is time for me to name you." Mayuri said, pointing to the melancholy woman, who looked vaguely ecstatic at the words.

"Really, Master Mayuri? I can have… a name?" the woman said, sounding as though a name were too good for her. Hermione had to slap a hand over her mouth to stop her from blurting out her feminism views, but she managed a mental rant rather well.

"Yes, of course you get a name, you stupid girl. I can't simply call you Experiment #625 all day long. It'll grow tedious to me and I'll have to break all your bones again for annoying me so." Mayuri said as though he hadn't just threatened to the sad-looking girl with bodily harm. Hermione struggled hard not to say anything, biting down on her hand to stop herself, "Now then… what to call you? Hmm… I know. I'll give you that name Harry wanted for that experiment which showered us in blood a few months ago. You shall now and forever be referred to as… Nemu, Nemu Kurotsuchi." Mayuri said as Nemu nodded, bowing her head with a faint smile as she did.

"Thank you… Master Mayuri." Nemu said, sounding truly grateful.

"What about me, Mr. K? Don't I get a name?" the sanity-impaired woman asked happily as Mayuri scowled lightly at her.

"You already have a name. It is Bellatrix Lestrange, you foolish girl." Mayuri sneered half-hearted at the woman as Hermione's eyes widened beyond belief.

Bellatrix Lestrange! As in the same Bellatrix Lestrange that had driven Neville's parents, Frank and Alice Longbottom, into insanity! The same Bellatrix Lestrange that had been said to be slavishly devoted to Lord V-Voldemort! The Dark Lord's most loyal servant! The same Bellatrix Lestrange that was rumored to be intensely sadistic witch with primitive, animalistic tendencies! The one who was said to have been highly intelligent with a fierce and dangerous temper! The very same that was fear as one of Voldemort's cruelest Death Eaters, always eager to inflict the Cruciatus Curse on enemies and even her family members! The exact woman who was rumored to be as mad as the master she willingly served! The one whom was both feared and respected as a powerfully dangerous witch!

Oh yes, Hermione had done her homework when it came to their enemies this year after she had found out about Sirius Black. She had used her time-turner to complete her assignments, but had been secretly guilty of also using it to find out information of Hogwarts alumni that had turned known Death Eaters once out of the magical school.

From what Hermione knew, Bellatrix was said to be extremely narcissistic and imperiously arrogant, obsessed with blood purity. It was said the woman took immense pride in the aristocracy and pure blood of her family. Like all the rest of Lord Voldemort's followers, she was vehemently against all "blood traitors," half-bloods, Muggle-borns, and Muggles, but she was also not above killing members of her own family who displeased her.

The woman was also quoted to have been "a natural leader who took charge in tricky situations", adding yet another mark of her decisiveness and ruthlessness. It was said that during the First Wizarding War, which Voldemort had waged against the Light, that Bellatrix Lestrange took no unnecessary prisoners; preferring to kill them off instead.

However, some had been quoted that despite her cruel personality, Bellatrix was not incapable of feeling affection for others as she was said to care very deeply about her younger sister Narcissa Malfoy, Draco's mother. The woman was also rumored to have genuine love for her master, Lord Voldemort, though he did not return her feelings.

For it was said that Voldemort was completely incapable of knowing, understanding or feeling the emotion known to the world as love.

Hermione removed her hands from her face, slowly and shakily as the color drained away from her, because now that she knew exactly who she was in the presence of, Hermione held too much fear for her life to say anything that would cause the three happily ignorant people to endanger her life; whether through torture or experimentation.

* * *

><p>"Sorry, Harry, but Captain Ukitake left already, He's meeting with the Captain Commander- I mean, Head-Captain to discuss the mission here and whether it'll continue to next year and years after." Soi Fon said as Harry sighed, flopping down on the cushion as he glanced from Byakuya to Soi Fon.<p>

"Then can you two go and deliver the news to them? We need this help; it's a matter of life or death." Harry pleaded as Byakuya and Soi Fon exchanged looks, "I know Soul Society doesn't normally interfere in the affairs of the World of the Living, but if Sirius is Kissed…"

"We know, Harry." Byakuya snapped impatiently, scowling lightly with his head in his hand and his legs crossed, "That's a fate no one deserves. I've heard rumors of what goes on in Hell from Gramps, but this Kissing-thing takes the… what do ya call it? Cake? Yeah, it takes the cake. I mean, having your semi-immortal Soul forcibly pulled from your body and eaten by one of the darkest, most foul things in all of existence? You gotta admit that's a little extreme for anybody, especially when you take into account that the body can continue existence without the soul, and that any random spirit could just inhabit the soulless body and wreck havoc… Yeah, this is bad."

"That's all you can say? This is bad?" Harry said as Byakuya raised a brow.

"This is very bad?" Byakuya tried as Harry face-palmed himself when Byakuya shrugged his shoulder uncertainly.

Luckily, Soi Fon, being the sensible one of their little tri-soul group, intervened before the two got into a pointless argument that took up time.

"Listen Harry, we'll go to the Captains and ask for their help." Soi Fon promised as Harry smiled gratefully at her.

"Yeah, we'll try to get some help with this, but you have to know one thing Harry." Byakuya said, looking very serious as Harry felt the shift in the atmosphere of the room, "You may not get our help. In fact, there's a big chance that you won't. So while we're appealing to the Head-Captain, you go on and take matters into your own hands."

"Can do." Harry said, smirking as he clasped hands with Byakuya and shook while Soi Fon merely shook her head with an amused smile.

"Boys…" Soi Fon muttered with mirth.

* * *

><p>"Where are we off to now?" Hermione asked as they walked out of the Mission Room. And, in her opinion, it wasn't quick enough as she made haste down the corridor, matching Harry's stride as he glanced at her.<p>

"Well, we wasted 20 minutes of the 60 in our additional hour, so now we're gonna-"

"Stop right where you are." a voice said as Harry turned to the side to see Draco and Luna stepping out of the shadows.

"What the-"

"Save it. I know everything. Luna told me." Draco said, his arms crossed as Luna simply smiled at nothing in particular.

"Oh, hello Hermione, or should I say; future-Hermione. It would get terribly confusing if both you's went by the same name. Perhaps I should just call you Hermione G. instead?" Luna said, tilting her head innocently to the side as Hermione shook her head desperately.

"Please, no. I got enough of being Hermione G. in grammar school." Hermione said as Harry cats her a side-along glance. He was sure to get the full story another time, but what was that all about?

"Oh yes, how could I forget. So sorry, future-Hermione. Though I also don't know you personally, so I should really call you future-Granger." Luna said, twirling her wand idly as Hermione stiffened, believing the loony Ravenclaw would stun them at any moment and take them to Dumbledore with Draco in on the plan.

"Enough chit-chat. There's a reason you're here." Harry said, not wanting to waste more time, "You said you knew everything, and I assume that you also know about the time-travel since Luna seems to know everything. Now, why are you here?"

"I came here with Luna because she said you'd have the time. I… I didn't want to do this later…" Draco said, his voice once tight with anger slowly becoming docile and quiet, like a timid deer.

"Do what?" Harry asked, feeling a sinking feeling in his stomach.

"We… We need to talk, Harry…" Draco said heavily in his quiet tone as Hermione gasped, covering her mouth as she gave Harry a sympathetic glance, knowing his irrational hate for pity.

"Oh, Harry, I'm so sorry." Hermione said, giving him a hug as Harry looked mildly confused.

"Wait, what? Sorry for what? Stop hugging me. I don't know what's going on." Harry said as Luna joined in on the hug.

"Don't worry, it'll be over soon. It's okay if you cry, and remember that you don't have to be in a relationship with someone to love them." Luna whispered to Harry as she detached herself from him, giving his shoulder a comforting squeeze before she gazed intently (and intensely) into his eyes.

"What?" was all Harry managed to think and say as Draco sighed heavily.

"Harry… I can't do it anymore. We have to stop." Draco said, screwing up all his abysmal courage to press through with his course of action.

"What are you talking about, Draco?" Harry asked, feeling very confused about the whole situation.

"Us? Our relationship, everything, Harry." Draco breathed as he nearly collapsed into Harry's arms, but managed to stay on his feet, "Harry… we can't go on like this; it's over- _we're_ over."

"Wha… What are you saying, Draco?" Harry asked, that sinking feeling coming back full-force as Draco gazed up at him with saddened and reluctant grey eyes.

"Harry, do you know what happens every time you go into that strange room, or to Snape's office at midnight, or outside the school grounds?" Draco asked as Harry shook his head, "You disappear to me. Those protective barriers those people have up block your Spirit Waves from reaching me."

"What are Spirit Waves?" Harry asked, a part of him hoping to forestall Draco's "it's over" in whatever way it could.

"Spirit Waves are the pulses your magic gives off to those that are connected to you, letting them know that you're alive. The stronger the waves, the healthier you are. It's like a Muggle life-line to me, and every time you go off my radar; I think the worst has happened to you, especially after Luna told me half the things you've been up to." Draco said, his head bowed in Harry's shoulder as Harry gingerly raised a hand to touch him, not knowing if that was what Draco needed or not. To his credit, Harry had never seen Draco sad, no matter how many times he had once fantasized about the sight, "It started the very first night that we came back to Hogwarts. I went to sleep not feeling the warm strong pulses of your life… I had nightmares about my father having caught you; of Sirius Black having found you and finishing you off. I could barely bare through the night. But then… in my sleep, I relaxed sometime into the night when you returned from that strange room."

"My first meeting Shunsui and Jushiro…" Harry realized as Luna nodded.

"I've been helping divert people's attention from your going to see them. I'd tell them the truth, but people seem to want to make-up their own theories to where you've been." Luna said as Harry's mouth gaped in realization, forming a perfect "o".

"That rumor about me and the Patil twins!" Harry said suddenly as Hermione blushed, having believed that rumor for a week before she realized that Harry would have told her if he was dating anyone like he had when he told her and the others about Malfoy.

"Yes, and there's more." Draco said, looking quite solemn before his face contorted into a spiteful sneer, "I've caught you a few times with those… people. The Eastern girl and that… pretty boy."

"Their names are Sui-Feng and Byakuya Kuchiki, and they are my friends." Harry said firmly as he gripped Draco's forearms just as firmly squeezing them gently knowing that Draco liked it when he did. Draco melted into him a little, the tension in his posture reducing; if only a little.

"As I said before; I've seen you moving about the school with them, talking in hushed voices like you always do with Granger and Weasley. I've seen you running out of the castle, sneaking around at night… visiting Professor Snape's office around midnight and disappearing just like with that room."

"Draco, it's not what it-"

"No, I know what it is." Draco said quietly, backing away from Harry with a hurt look as he glanced at Hermione, "You didn't trust me… didn't trust her… Didn't trust any of us. We would have kept your secret. We would have lied for you."

"He's right, Harry…" Hermione said, looking away when Harry glanced to her for help.

"No, that's not it! It's not that I didn't trust you all." Harry said quickly, hoping to fix the mistake in his intentions, "I was trying to protect you! All of you! You have no idea the danger-"

"You know what?" Draco said, looking angry and tearful at the same time as Harry shut up upon hearing those softly spoken words, "You're right. We don't know the danger, but you didn't feel us ready to know either. Granger here has stood by you through thick and thin. I would have gladly done so to from the beginning. You didn't trust us… You didn't believe in us, Harry… and that's what really hurts."

"Draco, no, it's nothing like that!" Harry yelled in frustration while pulling at his hair, hoping against all hope that he could salvage the situation and get rid of the ice cold feeling of dread in the pit of his stomach.

"Then what is it like, because that's what I'm seeing!" Draco snapped back as he began glaring at Harry, "You've been living a double life! We thought you trusted us!"

"I do!" Harry yelled, and despite himself he grabbed Draco around the waist, looking desperate to stop whatever was coming to an end, "I trust you! I love you! I was just so caught up in not wanting to ruin the lives of the people around me, the people I care for; the people I love, that I didn't think."

"That's right… you didn't." Draco said, reluctantly prying Harry's arms from his person. Harry felt something inside of him break when he saw tears fall from Draco's eyes and down his pale cheeks, "And that's why we have to stop. You need time to think. To think about what you really want to do with your, and who you want to share your life with. Secrets always come to light, Harry… and sometimes, it makes the dark seem all the more cruel for hiding them. You could have told us. We didn't have to get involved, but just to know you were okay. We worried about you, and you spat in our face every time you didn't take the opportunity to tell us what you were really doing."

"I was trying to protect you, dammit!" Harry said, ignoring the shocked look on his friends' faces as he gave into his mounting frustrations, "Do you have any clue how much I worry about all of you? No, you don't! You just want to blame me for my faults! Yes, I didn't tell you, but you should understand why! Hermione and Ron may not see it, but they almost die every year here at Hogwarts because they're my friends. It's one of the reasons I didn't want more friends or to talk to people. Everyone I come in contact with ends up getting into dangerous situations and near fatal misses when they're around me. My life is a death trap, so don't you dare stand there and say I didn't trust you because it wasn't you I didn't trust; it was myself! I didn't trust myself to protect you all if you found out…" Harry said, as everyone stood in shocked silence at his rage, "But now… Now I do. Now its not just me; I've learned over the course of the year that I'm not the only one who can fight the good fight and bang with the worst of rogues."

Harry paused as he gazed over Draco, Hermione, and Luna. He smiled at them as he held back the tears, "It's not just me. Jushiro, Sui-Feng, Mayuri, Byakuya, Ginrei, Colin, Luna, Cedric, Seamus, Dean, and Neville… they've helped me see what you all have been trying to make me see for the past two years. I'm not in this life alone; I have all of you to help me. You're all like family to me. You've treated me better than my so-called family ever did… I don't know how to thank all of you for what you've done for me, but I'll find away someday. Until then, you have to understand that what I do, is to protect all of you. I don't care about myself, but you guys… You're all worth dying for hundred times over." Harry finished as his three friends enveloped him in a hug.

"I'm not sure how to respond to that, Harry." Draco whispered in his ear while wiping tears away, "But I'm still hurt over you not telling me. You really should have trusted us to be able to protect ourselves and fight alongside you if you were worried that would be the case. When you do finally decide that's what you really want… you know where to find me."

"Yeah, yeah I do." Harry said, a single tear escaping him as he hugged his friends back slowly, "It's just… if anything happened to you three or the others-"

"Then that should be a risk your willing to take, Harry." Hermione said, blowing her nose with a tissue from Luna, who she thanked, "The same way we take that risk when we let you protect us."

"I… You're right, but still…" Harry said, not wanting them to rush into the same dangers that he would. He could honestly say he never wanted to see another Hollow again after what happened outside the school grounds, so how could he expect them to deal with such an experience?

"You've grown wonderfully this year, Harry." Luna commented honestly as she laid a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze, "You've grown far more than any thought possible in such a short amount of time, but you still have more growing to do yet. Let us be there for you, Harry, the way you are there for us."

And the smiles they had, even though it finally hit Harry that he and Draco had official "broken-up", told him that he wasn't just talking out of his angered ass when he said he wasn't alone in his troubles. They and all the others truly would be there for him when and if he needed them. He wondered briefly, if that was how they felt whenever he was there for them. Like nothing could go wrong so long as they had him and he hand them.

Harry found that he rather liked the feeling, and hoped it stayed that way forever.

"Aww, how touching." a voice in the darkness of the shadows sneered as Harry whipped around in its direction, "It's sweet enough to make one sick, Potter. You and your sappy friends have had your last heart-felt moment."

And it was then with horror and shock etched into his face that Harry watched as William Thestor walked out from the shadows as the bloodied body of three Stealth Force ninja fell out with him. The boy walked out so calmly, a cool smirk on his face as the sword in his hand gleamed off the torch light.

It was then that the shadows around them dropped, and Harry felt true and utter fear for the first time in life.

* * *

><p>"Well now, isn't this a <em>grand<em> turn of events. I never imagined I'd get the _pleasure_ of seeing _your_ faces again in life." Snape sneered sarcastically as he got into a defensive stance while a woman swayed her hips out of the shadows and a large man twice her height and six times her thin girth waddled heavily behind her.

"Well hullo, Severus sweetie." the woman greeted with a seductive smile and the grace of an elegant panther, "How long's it's been? 20 years? 30? 40, I'd wager."

"Can I eat him this time, Lust?" the big man asked childishly, "Please? Gluts' been a good boy. Can I, please?"

"You'll get your chance, Gluttony, right after we finish playing with your food." the woman, known as Lust, said with a smile as she slowly rose her hand, a green-bladed broadsword forming in it.

"So that's your game then." Snape drawled as he reached into his robes and clasped something, slowly pulling a straight double-egde sword from seemingly nowhere. He rose it to parallel his face and gave it a few slashes, "Then I see the Shadows of Sin have finally dropped."

And with those final words, the woman smirked and the giant man grinned broadly while Snape seemed to barely control his annoyance. For with those final words, they needed no more as they started at each other in an explosion of dust and debris.


	16. Gathering! The Accountability of Sin!

_**This is it! The final countdown! The Beginning to the End!**_

_**Hope you enjoy.**_

**Chapter 16: Accountability of Sin**

* * *

><p><strong>Last Time<strong>:

"_You've grown wonderfully this year, Harry." Luna commented honestly as she laid a hand on his shoulder and gave it a squeeze, "You've grown far more than any thought possible in such a short amount of time, but you still have more growing to do yet. Let us be there for you, Harry, the way you are there for us."_

_And the smiles they had, even though it finally hit Harry that he and Draco had official "broken-up", told him that he wasn't just talking out of his angered ass when he said he wasn't alone in his troubles. They and all the others truly would be there for him when and if he needed them. He wondered briefly, if that was how they felt whenever he was there for them. Like nothing could go wrong so long as they had him and he hand them._

_Harry found that he rather liked the feeling, and hoped it stayed that way forever._

"_Aww, how touching." a voice in the darkness of the shadows sneered as Harry whipped around in its direction, "It's sweet enough to make one _sick_, Potter. You and your sappy friends have had your last heart-felt moment."_

_And it was then with horror and shock etched into his face that Harry watched as William Thestor walked out from the shadows as the bloodied bodies of three Stealth Force ninja fell out with him. The boy walked out so calmly, a cool smirk on his face as the sword in his hand gleamed off the torch light._

_It was then that the shadows around them dropped, and Harry felt true and utter fear for the first time in life._

"_Well now, isn't this a _grand_ turn of events. I never imagined I'd get the _pleasure_ of seeing _your_ faces again in life." Snape sneered sarcastically as he got into a defensive stance while a woman swayed her hips out of the shadows and a large man twice her height and six times her thin girth waddled heavily behind her._

"_Well hullo, Severus sweetie." the woman greeted with a seductive smile and the grace of an elegant panther, "How long's it's been? 20 years? 30? 40, I'd wager."_

"_Can I eat him this time, Lust?" the big man asked childishly, "Please? Gluts' been a good boy. Can I, please?"_

"_You'll get your chance, Gluttony, right after we finish playing with your food." the woman, known as Lust, said with a smile as she slowly rose her hand, a green-bladed broadsword forming in it._

"_So that's your game then." Snape drawled as he reached into his robes and clasped something, slowly pulling a straight double-edge sword from seemingly nowhere. He rose it to parallel his face and gave it a few slashes, "Then I see the Shadows of Sin have finally dropped."_

_And with those final words, the woman smirked and the giant man grinned broadly while Snape seemed to barely control his annoyance. For with those final words, they needed no more as they started at each other in an explosion of dust and debris._

* * *

><p><strong>Now<strong>:

Everyone watched William Thestor in shock as he stepped out of the shadows with the bleeding bodies of Stealth Force ninjas falling about him; dead. Harry didn't know why the sight caused him so much fear, but all his eyes could lock on were the grin on Thestor's face and the sword the guy palmed idly in his hands as it dripped crimson red with the blood of the dead men around the boy.

Then the shadows, the very same that had followed him around for the entire year, dropped from the corners and hide-away. Like muddy, murky, bubbling puddles of darkness the shadows rose and came together in two different spaces. Harry backed up to his friends, staying on edge as Thestor seemed to only grin wider at the action while the puddles of darkness began to take humanoid shape. Arms and legs began to become distinguishable as heads bubbled up from bodies. Then the things began to get color. Clothes turned from the bubbling murky black to silvers, blues, purples and other colors.

"It's h-him…" Hermione gasped quietly as her brain finally unfroze from her fear and shock while tearing her gaze away from the dead bodies to Thestor, "It's that William Thestor fellow. What did he do to-?"

"I'm sure that doesn't matter at the moment right now, Granger." Draco said, him and Luna with their wands already out as he gritted his teeth, "Just get your wand out already."

Hermione fumbled for her wand inside her robes, all the while watching Thestor in horror and the bubbling masses in slight terrified disgust. Harry took a deep breath, raining in his fearful thoughts and the millions of questions buzzing through his head as he stepped forward slightly. Thestor seemed to understand what he had done mentally as he frowned at Harry's now sober expression.

"Ahh yes, the brave Harry Potter wouldn't be paralyzed in fear for very long, now would he? Though I'm sure it wasn't true fear." Thestor said idly, twirling the sword in hand as he glanced at Harry's party, "No, it was shock and dread. You saw this old thing and thought I was some Soul Reaper turned evil. Probably believed me some traitorous demon like Sosuke Aizen."

"Who?" Harry questioned as Thestor smirked at him.

"Oh, never mind. I forget that you're only Soul Society's _pet project_ and not a true free-agent." Thestor said with a sad shake of his head, "Tell me, Potter, do you even know what this sword is?"

"A Zanpakuto." Harry stated quite seriously as he gripped the Soul Badge in his pocket tightly.

"Well give the kid a prize!" Thestor howled loudly while clapping, "He got it in one!"

Draco scowled at Thestor's arrogant attitude. He knew the guy was a major prat, but really!

"Yes, you're right, Potter this is a _Zanpakuto_, or _Soul Slayer_, or even _Soul-Cutter Sword_ in our English tongue. Now here's a new question for ya. Did you know that Soul Reapers, or Shinigami, weren't the only ones to wield such a primitive weapon?"

Harry didn't answer, not wanting Thestor to see that he didn't know. However, he realized to late that by not answering, he only proved to Thestor that he in fact didn't know, causing that boy's smirk to increase.

"I see the Soul Reapers have kept you dumb and blind, indeed. I'll answer the question for you, Potter. Soul Reapers _aren't_ the only ones to wield the Zanpakuto. Soul Reapers are merely normal beings that have high concentrations of Spiritual Energy. Now onto my next question. What do you know about the Arrancar?" Thestor said as he stopped twirling his blade to give Harry and the others a look at it. It looked like any other katana, though it's guard was claw-like and the hilt looked as though it had been clawed at by a beast.

Harry narrowed his eyes, not seeing where these questions were going. Hermione was fidgeting behind him as Luna and Draco stood at the ready for any sort of attack.

"Don't know." Harry replied finally after a short silence. Thestor seemed all too pleased by his answer as he grinned.

"Truly, the Soul Reapers must not trust you with their knowledge. Such a shame." Thestor said as Harry was starting to see the path of Thestor's little Q&A, "An Arrancar is a Hollow who has removed its mask and obtained Soul Reaper-like powers. They gain a Zanpakuto, which carries the essence of their more… basic instincts."

The grin that Thestor had on his face did nothing to settle Harry's nerves as he glanced at the now completely formed and morphed shadows. One was an old man who looked to be as old as Dumbledore himself while the other was a child clutching a teddy bear sleepily.

"Get on with it, William." the old man grumbled as he and the child began to walk off, "We have work to do, and _he_ would not be pleased if the ten years worth of planning we've done were to go to waste."

"Yeah…" the sleepy boy said as he rubbed at his eyes cutely, "He'd kill you dead if _he_ found out you were wasting precious time. We only have this one night to complete the plan. So do get on with it, Thestor."

"Fine, fine." Thestor grumbled as he watched his two accomplices walk away, "I'll catch up to you in ten minutes."

"Alright then…" the small child said as he yawned and waved behind himself sleepily, "Just kill them and catch up."

And with that said, the two were gone and Thestor was turning back to them with an unusual gleam in his eyes.

"Well, you heard the brat." Thestor said, shouldering his blade, "Got ten minutes."

"I'll end this in five." Harry said, quickly pressing the Soul Badge to his hip from inside his pocket. His body fell away from him as he stood proudly in Soul Reaper robes while a hand rested on the hilt of his own sheathed Zanpakuto.

"Oh?" Thestor challenged with a raised brow, "You obviously missed the big picture here, Potter, so let me help you. You must join us, Harry Potter."

Harry felt as though something had gone completely over his head as he gave Thestor a stupid look. Join them? Was this guy nutters?

"Join you?" Harry echoed as Thestor nodded like it was such a simple concept to grasp.

"Of course. I mean, you don't plan to stay with the Soul Reapers, do you? You've got what you wanted out of the deal; the power to protect these peasants. Now you don't need the Soul Reapers anymore." Thestor said, as though the thought of betrayal should have been the first Harry should have conceived, "Come on, Potter, they don't trust you. I bet they never even told you the reason they were here in the first place."

"They're here to protect the school from the Dementors, and ensure that the students are safe from Sirius Black." Harry said, remembering what Jushiro said.

However, what Harry had said must have been hilarious as Thestor went into a raging fit of laughter, stomping his foot and slapping his knee as he carried on in the manner.

"Okay, that was funny… Now then, the _real_ reason they're here, Potter." Thestor said as he calmed himself while Harry tried not to glare. Getting emotional right when a battle was about to break out would have done nothing but get one of them killed.

"That _is_ the real reason." Harry said through gritted teeth as Thestor chuckled and shook his head like he was pitying a child. Harry felt his blood boil at the thought of this jerk pitying him and he could see that Hermione and Draco didn't agree with the idea either.

"Ohh, poor Potter. So naïve, so trusting… so stupid!" Thestor said, his face going from mocking pity to stone serious, "The _real_ reason the Soul Reapers are here is because they wanted you, Potter. Their Central Chamber of Forty-Six Judges issued an order to have you turned into one of their faithful Soul Reapers and made to serve them as Soul Society's dog."

"_Stupe_-"

"Too slow, Lovegood." Thestor said, his sword at the ground as Luna's eyes widened.

Harry was shocked as he turned. He had barely seen Thestor whiz past him, but his initial shock at Luna being the first firing off a spell had caused him a moment's delay. Now as he turned, he saw Luna's wide blue eyes turn cold and dull as blood gushed from her. Her wand was still pointed toward where Thestor had once stood as her hand began to tremble. Then she fell over, like a slow moving picture as they all watched her with horror and shock etched into their features. When her body finally collapsed to the ground, lifeless, Thestor picked up his sword from the ground and swished it rid of the blood while grinning like a madman within their, now made, triangle around him.

"So… who's next?" Thestor asked as he raised his sword lazily, his grin not fading as Harry was still gaping down at Luna's vertically-bisected body.

* * *

><p>Dumbledore's calm expression turned to one of child-like curiosity as he noticed Harry's presence in two different places.<p>

You see, not many knew it (or perhaps they believed it as a rumor or fact from him being thought all-powerful), but Albus Dumbledore's senses went far beyond that of the average witch or wizard when magic was concerned.

Perhaps it was because he was, admittedly, on the impressive side of the spectrum of magical power. Perhaps it was just some random quirk of nature or by chance of luck. All were as likely as the other, Dumbledore liked to believe.

However, that did not change the fact that he had always been able to see and feel things others couldn't. At first it was just impressions of things being there when they weren't to his eyes. Then once he had finished his years at Hogwarts, he had been seeing blurs that his good friend of the time… and major crush at the time, Gellert Grindelwald, said weren't there. During his years teaching, he had found that he could touch some of the ghosts around the school for a moment or two. Then came the greater change.

It was the time when Severus Snape had come to school. Dumbledore found his senses more attune when the boy was around, and saw people who other teachers said weren't there. Like the shabby blond man that would speak with Severus from time to time, or the dark-skinned girl that would drag the blond man away from the school if he had stayed too long. After Severus had finished his own schooling, Dumbledore found himself seeing Muggle-ghosts haunting Muggle-places. These things had always seemed to eluded the vision of his friends and family at the time, but he could see them as clear as day. In his boredom and curiosity, he had even stopped to speak to a few from time to time, that is, if they had a mind to converse with him.

At first he had assumed that it was because of magic that this was possible. He was always told he was a genius, and so he had put that genius to work to find the answer. What he found was nothing. It didn't take him long at all to discover that normal magic had nothing to do with it at all. Because, if magic was the answer, then other wizards and witches could have easily sensed and seen what he and young Severus the same things as him and young Severus.

There was also the fact that he could sense a sort of radiation, a colorless aura of sorts, from certain rare individuals. It was almost like magic, but it was much more raw and untamed than any normal breed of magic. It was like sunlight compared to a flashlight, never the same but both parallel. He had come across the occasional armed stranger in black cloak, thinking them foreign wizards, but found out years later that they weren't.

In his search for answers, he was led to the greatest discover of all time; soul magic. Though he initially regarded such a think as fooling around with the soul as Dark Magic, Dumbledore found that in his quest for an explanation, he didn't need to tamper with the human spirit at all.

And boy was he thankful…

He discovered that the true nature of this ability he, Severus, and a few others possessed was the power of the human soul rather than human magic or the magical core. No, this power hid deep within the magical core, blocked and locked away until the time where the human body of a cage for this power fell away dead and the soul could be unleashed… un-caged in all it's potential.

"Albus, are you alright? You seem alert. Has something happened inside the castle?" Professor McGonagall asked, her normally strict face a tinge with worry as Dumbledore gave a mental sigh.

"No, Minerva. Simply a disturbance at the barrier by the Dementors. I'm sure it's nothing." Dumbledore said, and it was true. He could feel the barrier being struck at by the Dementors, but they would not get through. It would take someone of his or Lord Voldemort's power to break the barrier, and he doubted that any average witch or wizard would be able to discern the weak point in the shield charm those Soul Reapers had placed up.

Dumbledore gave another mental sigh as he saw that Minerva McGonagall went back to being perfectly calm, placated by his words already despite what he had said about the Dementors growing rowdy. But then again, she, like all others believed him of being an all-knowing wizened man of "the Light"… or at least being as close to such as a mere mortal such as himself could be.

In truth, however, he was not, and he knew it. An entire host of events and transgressions could escape his notice at any given time. Like Harry's interaction with the Soul Reapers until Severus had discovered such. Or McGonagall's own spiritual potential being slowly unhinged from beneath her magical core. Or even some of the students slowly gaining their own spiritual powers.

Those were just a few, much like how he knew the Room of Requirement was being occupied by the Soul Reapers, Albus Dumbledore would have never believed there were Captain-ranked Shinigami there until he had been told. He also would have only guessed at Harry's interacting with said Captain-ranked individuals because Harry had a strange way of getting into situations that involved political powers far greater than his own.

Another thing that would have escaped his notice was the very thing that was garnering his curiosity at the very moment. Two signatures of Harry's spiritual presence was a very strange thing. He doubted if Harry was able to sense it, but it worried him none the less with the two being so close. And then the second signature, which wasn't in the Great Hall eating and chatting hurriedly with friends and foes, moved to the Entrance Hall. Dumbledore could only assume that this second Harry was either from another reality or the future, seeing as he could also sense a second Hermione Granger along with the second Harry Potter. He wondered briefly why he couldn't sense Ron Weasley as well, but his blue eyes widened a bit as he realized that he could feel Snape's subtly hidden spiritual pressure. Trying immediately to sense out any others, Dumbledore found no others aside from the three.

Leaning back in his chair, Dumbledore pursed his lips slightly in thought as to why the three would have come from the future. Were they there to deal with Sirius Black? To stop some plot of Lord Voldemort's wicked design? To help the Soul Reapers against some enemy of their's which would attack the school?

All these questions buzzed in his head, and each seemed as likely as the other. Stretching his soul-based senses further throughout the castle with his powers as Headmaster of the school, Albus found a host of beings that could be a reason for the sudden appearance of the future trio. Though he could not tell who or what else was involved, he could sense faint traces of dark power all about the castle, like a smell picked up from an slum-like environment rather than one born of flesh and blood. Something from the Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, or even… that place, but not a soul itself… at least, not one of any substantial spiritual power.

Then again, beings could suppress their powers as Harry, Severus, and Albus himself did everyday.

In any event, it tugged at Dumbledore's curiosity, and his curiosity was powerful in and of itself. So, moving aside the plate of deliciously made food the house-elves of the castle had prepared wonderfully, Dumbledore excused himself from the meal and the Great Hall when he felt the three future-beings split-up and rush off in different directions using that speed-magic. He could never get the hang of it, always having the bias of Apparition and Portkey, but years of tracing Severus's movements about the castle paid off as he could feel Harry's presence moved to the Seventh Floor and disappear into the Room of Requirement along with Ms. Granger's while Severus's went to the dungeons of Slytherin-territory.

As he walked slowly and patiently to check on Severus's reason for time-travel, Albus Dumbledore sensed Severus sneaking about the dungeons and felt his spiritual presence disappear into his own private Potion's Lab. He halted for a few seconds, confused as he didn't remember the man setting up a barrier around his private Potion's Lab, but shrugged as he figured he could just ask about it later.

Continuing on his trek, Dumbledore sighed as he felt Snape's presence emerge from the complete opposite direction within the dungeons from out of the man's office. Sighing to himself, Albus turned on heel and walked toward the man who was, thankfully, moving to his direction.

He was getting much too old for all this moving about…

While walking, and planning how the conversation would go with the questions he had for Severus, Dumbledore froze in mid-step as he felt two of the tainted presences from earlier emerge from the castle's own signature. He had always been able to sense those that lurked when he focused, but these two signatures…

They were like evil given form… He doubted if their own wickedness was a match for Lord Voldemort's, but he was sure they were giving the darkest wizard to date a run for his money.

Grabbing at his robes and moving quickly, Dumbledore could practically feel the explosive battle which Severus was having against the two invaders to the castle.

And just as he rounded the corner, a explosion occurred and one Severus Snape was sent flying in his direction.

Quickly taking out his wand, Albus moved it with a spell levitation charm, giving Snape enough time to flip backward through the air to landing, skidding on his feet just in front of the Headmaster.

"You shouldn't be here." was the first thing Snape sneered out as Dumbledore waved his concern aside like a pungent odor.

"No, perhaps not, but I was curiosity as to why you, Harry, and Ms. Granger had traveled through time. I can now see though that you must have had a reason." Dumbledore said as he gazed upon the living example of the Muggle tale of "Beauty and the Beast".

The woman's appearance was breathtaking to behold, even for Albus, who was as gay as a spring morning in the hills of Hogsmeade. She wore long lavish lilac robes over what appeared to be a black leather catsuit. Her hair was black and silky, giving an enchanting contrast to her milky white skin which glistened in the torch-light like porcelain-glass. She wore rather dark toned make-up, consisting of purple eyeliner and dark violet lipstick. The black ribbons hanging off her dress looked to stand out sharply in Dumbledore's mind. However, her most dominant, and somewhat frightening feature in Albus' mind, was her sharpened bird's nail, which seemed to cover her longest finger. The dark yellow and violet stripes that run up and down the dreaded nail gave Albus the idea that a scratch from such a thing could be toxic to the person on the receiving end of such a scratch.

Albus quickly glanced away from the woman to take in the large man's appearance. While not of very good height, the man wasn't very much obese either. No, to Albus he appeared very… healthy and indulgent. He looked like a robust man who enjoyed food more than wealth, and Albus was sure that it reflected in his appearance as a man with balding hair and small, beady black eyes with a strong and powerful jaw.

"Hmm…" the woman said as she swayed her way before the large man, "Who is this, Severus? Do we have a new playmate after all this time?"

"Not at all." Snape sneered out, "This is Headmaster Dumbledore. The very same from years ago."

"Oh, so he is." the woman said after giving Dumbledore a critical and identifying look before nodding, "His beard has grown out."

"Can I eat him?" the large man asked in a boomingly deep voice before turning to address Dumbledore himself, "Can I eat you? Please?"

"I should say not." Albus said with a chuckle and shake of his head as he brandished his wand, "I'm an old man. I'd be no good for your health, most likely giving you indigestion."

"Hmm… you may be right, Dumbles…" the man said after cocking his head to the side.

"Oh my." the woman said suddenly, placing the hand with her deadly nail over her heart while the other was preoccupied with her holding her sword, "We've forgotten to introduce ourselves. Please forgive us. We're… old playmates of Severus here. I am Lilith Asmodeus. My… associate here is Beelze Zabub Hagith."

"A pleasure to meet you. I am Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster of this distinguished school of Hogwarts." Dumbledore greeted with a slight bow, "Now then, I understand that the two of you are trespassing on my school's grounds without expressed permission and I must insist that you leave until such permission is granted."

"Oh, but we don't want to." the woman, Lilith, said as she raised her sword slightly so that the torch-light gleamed off it, "We're just having a bit of a flare with Sevy here."

"Yes, and you've ruined a perfectly good hallway while doing so." Dumbledore said, glancing at the scorch marks and slashes throughout the stone corridor the three had been fighting within, "Now leave, or things will get very difficult for you, Madam Asmodeus." and with that warning, Albus raised his wand in preparation as the woman smirked seductively.

"Well, aren't you just all man, Professor Dumbledore. And please, call me Lust. Everyone does." Lilith, known as Lust, said as the large man behind her stepped forward, sniffing the air.

"They is coming, Lust. Sloth and Wrath is coming." the man said, frowning as Lust lost her veil of elegance with an annoyed sneer marring her face.

"Damn them. They sensed the old geezer, and now Wrath wants his vengeance." Lust said in disgust as she waved a hand vaguely, "He'll only be ending is own existence."

"What in the name of Morgan Le Fay are you talking about, you vile woman?" Snape hissed as he raised his sword in preparations for another bout.

"We're all in attendance, Severus." Lust said with a suggestive smirk and a wag of her finger, "Every… last… one of us."

Snape's eyes widened a fraction, and before he could attack, Dumbledore was taken from behind by a man that looked to be around his own ancient age. Snape tried to cut the attacking elderly man in two, but Lust's sword clashed against his own before Gluttony's hammer-like fist slammed into him, knocking him back through brick and stone as the behemoth of a man rammed him through the walls of the aged castle like a wrecking device.

"Now, now, Gluttony. We mustn't play with our food. Even if it is to tenderize it." Lust said with mirth as she followed the destruction of her partner at a leisurely pace, swaying her hips with every step.

* * *

><p>"I dare say; RELEASE ME!" Dumbledore yelled, blasting his magic outward in a shockwave as he and the stranger fell away from each other.<p>

It was only too bad that the strange had hastily snatched him up flights of stairs and through the first window they came across. This resulted in the two rolling across the courtyard grounds like a couple of rag-tag boys having a row. Dumbledore quickly rolled to his feet, his wand still clutched tightly in his hand as the stranger seemed to rise to his feet with all the grace of a majestic bird.

"Who are you, and why have you 'napped me?" Dumbledore asked as he held his wand at the ready. The stranger, obscured by the stretched shadows of the castle due to the lateness of the evening, chuckled as he laid a hand over his heart.

"You don't remember me, o' Albus? I'm hurt." the stranger asked, his voice deep and scratchy, like a coalminer's after a long day's work even though Dumbledore could detect the obvious mocking tone he took on.

"I apologize if my memory isn't the best these days." Dumbledore shot back as he glanced off to be sure no students nor faculty members were in the area.

He didn't need anyone else getting hurt because of his curiosity…

"Then allow me to refresh your memory… old friend…" the man said as he stepped out of the shadows.

Albus could almost feel a literal sweat-drop over his brow as he watched the man step out of the shadows. The man's form was covered from head-to-toe in heavy robes. He wore thick boots, and a cone-shaped headdress that covered his face, hiding all but his glinted purple eyes.

"Still don't recognize me, do you?" the man said as he rubbed at what Dumbledore believed to be his chin, "Well then, off with this then." And with that, the man grabbed the shoulder of his heavy robes as Dumbledore's electric-blue eyes went wide and his wrinkled cheeks colored a dusty red.

"Now wait a moment! Getting nude here won't help any-!"

As the robes came off and were thrown to the wind, Dumbledore's eyes widened expressively as he gazed upon the person that hid under those now cast-away robes.

"You…!"

* * *

><p>"<em><strong>Shakkaho<strong>_!" Snape bellowed in a whisper as he raised his hand, firing off the Kido calmly into the face of Gluttony, who was thrown back and off his feet by the power of the blast. Though by that time they were already near the Forbidden Forest as Snape staggered to his feet.

Just barely having gotten to his feet, not a second later Snape's forgotten sword was back in his hand as he blocked a decapitating slash from Lust, who smiled sweetly at him with beautifully white and straight teeth. As their blades grinded against one another, Snape's face was etched in concentration as he tried to drive the rather dainty-looking woman back. Shifting their blades up, Lust tried to make another finishing blow to Snape by bisecting him at the middle, though luckily for the Hogwarts' Potions Master, he was able to flash-step away in the nick of time.

… or so he thought as he frowned heavily at the sharp pain in his stomach region. Glancing down, Snape saw that the front of his robes had a thin slit in them and he was currently bleeding from it. Gritting his teeth, Snape laid a hand to the wound as his palm began to glow a medicinal-green, healing the incision.

"Oh, Severus!" Lust gushed with erotic moans as she held her blood-stained sword for him to see, "Do you see it? The blood I have not indulged in, in over two decades. The blood that was and still is so special. The blood of a man… with _unrequited_ love…"

* * *

><p>"So… who's next?" Thestor asked as he held out his sword at the ready, grinning widely as he glanced around at the three that had him trapped between them in a triangle "C'mon, no takers? I'm disappoint-"<p>

Harry's sword clashed against Thestor's in the fraction of a second, pushing the Slytherin-fake back and away from the group while Draco levitated Harry's body into an empty classroom.

"I'll kill you!" Harry snapped in fury, continuously pushing against Thestor's sword as they flew down the corridor, "You killed her!"

"Oh c'mon, Potter." Thestor said, his face expressionless as he stopped his backward movement and slashed upward to make Harry back-off, "She should have known her place."

"She was above you, I know that much." Harry spat as his Spiritual Pressure rose steadily, causing the very walls around them to creak under the weight of it.

"And yet she'd the dead one." Thestor said as his smirk came back.

"Is this all a game to you?" Harry roared as he jumped forward, slashing in every direction he could to get at William Thestor, who parried all of his moves.

"Yes!" Thestor replied, cackling like a madman as he blocked another of Harry's swings, knocking the emerald-eyed Soul Reaper's blade down before punching Harry in the stomach. Then, spinning on heel, Thestor's leg shot out as his foot collided with the side of Harry's face making him slam into the wall and physically through it.

"Harry!" Hermione yelled as Draco grabbed her when she tried to run to their downed companion.

"You can't help if Thestor's doing that to Harry!" Draco said he restrained Granger.

"I can try!" Hermione shot back as Draco shook his head.

"Look!" Draco said, pointing to where Thestor and Harry were once again clashing blades at the hole in the wall, "He can handle himself."

"I know that, but-…" Hermione started, looking toward her feet before surprise and shock flashed over her face, "What happened to Luna's bloody corpse?"

"What?" Draco asked, looking to Granger in surprise that she would be so… disrespectful for the recently killed before he too looked down, noticing the missing body and blood as well, "What in the name of Merlin…?"

Harry groaned as he impacted and crashed through another wall, though this time was sent skidding across the rolling green grasses of the Hogwarts' grounds. Right when he had been about to rise to his feet, a foot slammed into his back with enough force to make his body imprint the ground below him.

"Damn, you still alive under there?" Thestor asked as he grinned crazily, "You must be part dumbass, too, if you're still gettin' up."

"Yeah…" Harry said, coughing up blood, "Been told that before by Snape."

"I'm sure you have." Thestor said, taking his foot off Harry before punting the boy with glasses across the open fields leading to Hagrid's Hut and the edge of the Forbidden Forest.

Thestor seemed to greatly enjoying seeing Harry roll over in agony. Harry groaned lowly as he could just tell that some of his ribs had been broken with that last kick. Thestor raised his sword high into the dusty evening sky as he slowly walked up to Harry, savoring the suffering of his foe.

"You had the chance to join us, Harry Potter." Thestor said, "But you blew! And for what? Some friends who lied to you? Just look at you. So pathetic!" Thestor taunted as Harry groped around for his sword, "But don't worry, Potter. I'm gonna but you out of your own-… The hell?"

"Huh?" Harry groaned out, looking up at what had caused Thestor to pause. While his glasses had cracks in them, Harry could still make out a heap on the ground, one that lay about ten meters between him and Thestor. Harry squinted his eyes, and with horror he realized it was Luna's body.

"Now how the hell did your dead-ass get out here, huh?" Thestor asked as he nudged the body with his foot a couple of times, "I thought I had cut you clean in two. Oh well, must be losing my touch."

"Actually, you haven't lost anything really. I'm just smarter than you."

"… The fuck-"

But whatever smart-ass comment Thestor would have had to the airy voice was muffled in the explosion that came from Luna's body and consumed William Thestor in flames and smoke. The force of the explosion was so powerful that it forced Harry to roll over a couple of times in the opposite direction. Still though, when Harry stopped rolling, it was because something behind him wouldn't allow him to move back any further. Harry looked up, his eyes widening again, though this time with surprise and shock, as he stared up at a perfectly alive Luna Lovegood, who was smiling somewhat condescendingly down at him.

"Luna? You're alive? But how? We saw Thestor-"

"Harry, I think your wounds are more pressing of a matter than how I outmaneuvered all of you in the first move." Luna said, grasping Harry's arms as she helped him to his feet and shouldered his weight.

"I'm fine. I can walk." Harry said as he tried to walk on his own, but Luna was surprisingly strong as she kept his arm over her shoulders and helped him limp away from the school while Draco and Hermione were only just arriving on the scene.

"No, you can't. I'll heal your wounds when we get far enough away from here, but as for now bear with me." Luna said, looking ahead with more focus than Harry had ever seen her with.

"Lovegood? You're alive! How?" Draco practically shouted in Harry's ear as he and Hermione reached them.

"No time for that now. Help me move Harry into the forest as quickly as possible." Luna said, her voice stern with a breezy tone.

"Right then." Hermione said, and with a few muttered words and waves of her wand, she had created a stretcher and made it float Harry's injured body while they ran alongside it.

"Why are we running? We saw that guy get bombed. There's no way he survived that." Draco said as Luna looked back at him.

"He beat Harry through walls." Luna stated as Draco narrowed his eyes, running a bit faster in the general direction they were going.

"Good point." Draco conceded as Hermione looked confused before realization flashed across her face, making her legs work twice as fast.

"Damn you, Lovegood!" a voice roared behind them as they felt a wave of unbridled rage wash over them. Luna stopped, skidding from her speed as the others stopped a little ways ahead of her.

"I'll heal Harry here. You two go and run as fast as you can. The spiders or the centaurs will protect you." Luna said, looking unfazed by the feelings of killing intent wafting from where they had left Thestor for dead.

"But-" Hermione tried to protest, but Draco grabbed her arm and pulled her along.

"Shut your gob, move your legs, and save your skin, Granger!" Draco shouted as he half-dragged the bushy-haired girl deeper into the forest.

* * *

><p>"Draco will protect her." Luna said as she turned to Harry, her hands glowing a gentle green as they hovered over his stomach area.<p>

"That's not what I'm worried about." Harry admitted as Luna glanced up from her work.

"You think I'm going to die, because William Thestor is now angry with me for my trick on him." Luna said as Harry nodded, no longer fazed by her all-knowing ways.

"He'll target you now, and I can't stand up to him." Harry said, looking away from Luna's intense gaze, "Not unless-"

"You release more of your own power. The power you fear to unleash because you believe you can't fully control it." Luna finished as Harry nodded.

"I know I can't control it. When I unleash my Shikai, it's like I've allowed some beast to go free and reek havoc." Harry said, still not meeting Luna's eye. Luna, too, looked away with a sigh as she saw. Turning back to her work, the glow on her hands intensified and morphed into a deep blue as Harry looked up at Luna in surprise.

"W-What are you doing?" Harry asked in shock as Luna didn't look at him, focusing on her power.

"I'm going to help you. We have exactly two minutes until Thestor finds us. We'll only need one for this." Luna said, and then Harry's pupils dilated, his pulse slowed, and his head spun while he began to see two Luna's.

"W-What are… What you do to… m-me…?" Harry asked, his speech slowing and slurring as he fell into unconsciousness.

* * *

><p>"That damn bitch!" Thestor roared as he stomped toward the forest, grass growing and insects dying as he passed them, "She got in a cheap shot this time, but next time I'll slit her throat."<p>

Reaching the forest, Thestor placed a hand out to lean on a tree, but rapid sharps and crackling electricity shot out at him as he pulled back his hand while hissing in pain.

"The bitch!" Thestor roared again as he clutched his hand, "She placed a barrier on the forest. Getting around it won't be hard, but it'll take a bit of time. I've got seven minutes left to end this fight."

Thestor stepped up to where the shield charm had caught him by surprise. His hand clenched into a fist which began to waft a dull crimson color.

"This shouldn't take long at all." Thestor restated as he thrust his fist forward, blasting out a beam of power which obscured all vision from the resulting explosion.

* * *

><p>"It's a good thing I silenced these grounds from the castle." Snape said as he stood up, coughing out blood as he staggered to his feet, "Otherwise I'd have to deal with keeping idiot Gryffindors from trying to save me. Or maybe they'd help you finish me off."<p>

"Perhaps." Lust said airily, stepping out of a tree's shadow as Snape took in the appearance change from the release of her true powers.

Her fangs stuck out over her bottom lip, black demonic wings flapped excitedly behind her, and her hand was covered by a golden glove which had a rather unusually long middle finger to it. Though from the gash across Snape's chest, he knew it was as strong and sharp as his sword was.

"When will we stop playing around, Severus? All this foreplay has left me hot and bothered." Lust said, fanning herself with her normal hand as Snape's face couldn't seem to twist any tighter in suppressed fury.

"We're far enough away from the castle, and the barrier I setup has been added to." Snape said, standing to full height as Lust blinked.

"What are you talking about?" Lust said, her beautiful eyes narrowing.

"Lovegood must have joined the fray." Snape said, scowling as he recognized the energy signature of the odd blonde girl, "I thought it might have been Black, one of those Captains, even a Soul Reaper, or at least Crookshanks. But, I suppose beggars can't be choosers."

"What are you talking about?" Lust yelled in annoyance for being ignored. She was never to be ignored!

"You all fell into a hastily put together trap." Snape said, finally turning to Lust as she seethed in anger at his not looking directly at her and her beauty, "The only part left is for Dumbledore to enter the last unchecked part of the forest, and then we'll all be sealed."

"That doesn't matter." Lust said, chuckling softly with her golden hand waving dismissively, "Trapping us in here won't make any difference. You'll still die anyway."

"That's not the point." Snape sneered as Lust snapped a glare at him.

"Now what are you blabbering on about, Severus?" Lust snapped as Snape glared back at her, his power rising as he slowly reached his sword at the ready.\

"The point wasn't to keep you all in here." Snape said as his energy became visible, "It was to keep those dunderheads of the school out while we dealt with you."

"Really? And why is that?" Lust mocked as Snape's power practically doubled from what she thought was his maximum earlier.

"So this amount of Spiritual Energy and Spiritual Pressure wouldn't crush them and their pathetic souls." Snape said as he raised his blade, "Now it's time we got serious."

All traces of mockery and playfulness vanished from Lust's face as she gazed upon Snape and his massive amount of power. Then, in a split second, her power and his were clashing as they matched each other, destroying the middle ground between them as the trees snapped away like twigs.

"Then I'll show you why you should have taken our offer to join all so long ago. I'm twice as powerful as I was then, Severus." Lust said as Snape glanced from her.

Where was that imbecile Gluttony? Snape's gaze returned to Lust's one of fury as he vaguely feared for Draco and Granger, who he also sensed in the forest running from where Harry and Lovegood were.

Just who else could be in the forest while these battles were going on?

"Then let us test that. Because I serve no one." Snape said as Lust's face contorted in rage and disgust.

"Except that damnable Lily Evans." Lust spat as Snape gave no signs of having heard the slight at his deceased crush.

"No one." Snape said, and with that last statement, Lust gave a screeching battle cry as she launched herself at him, causing an explosion as they clashed.


	17. Delicious Agony! The Sweetest of Sin!

_**I understand that some people don't get what's going on. Or that it feels rushed. This, however, is the point. It's four battles at once that are trying to "beat the cloak" by being finished before an hour is up (for Harry, Luna, Severus, and Dumbledore), or before the next ten minutes is through (for Lust, Thestor, the mysterious old man, and others). They're all trying to finish things up as quickly as possible, but the "bad guys" are also trying to prolong the "good guys" suffering for as long as possible. These "bad guys" will learn that "heroes" usually rise above and beyond the occasion, whether they want to or not.**_

_**Also, something has happened with the site. Apparently the FF staff are planning to take down any and all story that exceed the M-rated coverage into the domain of MA-rated or something. I figure this means things like: stories with yaoi/yuri/het lemons, song based stories, extreme violence, & etc).**_

_**So, apparently on June 23rd, there will be an "official" Black Out of the site to protest the forementioned destruction of stories. I, personally, am not taking a side in this, but will gladly pass this message along because a friend asked me to. The BLack Out states that authors who wish to join the protest are not to: log in, read, or even review stories for the day.**_

_**Normally, when things like this happen, I don't want to take sides, but I find the entire thing (both the protest and the enforcement of M/MA-rates) to be a bit pointless in their goals. However, those who do not have FF accounts are also being affected by FF's decisions. The protesters are asking for others to please participate and spread the news. They believe that if enough authors take part in this event, FF will know they "mean business". Also, if anybody has any information on when this purging on M-rated fics will be please contact me so I might help people save their work beforehand.**_

_**SPREAD THE WORD IF YOU CAN! You can do this by **__**copying and pasting this into your story updates, communities and forums, and message fellow authors.**_

_**Well... there goes my community service to FF... Yahoo!**_

_**Hope you enjoy the chapter.**_

**Chapter 17: Delicious Agony! The Sweetest of Sin!**

* * *

><p><strong>Last Time<strong>:

_"Draco will protect her." Luna said as she turned to Harry, her hands glowing a gentle green as they hovered over his stomach area._

_"That's not what I'm worried about." Harry admitted as Luna glanced up from her work._

_"You think I'm going to die, because William Thestor is now angry with me for my trick on him." Luna said as Harry nodded, no longer fazed by her all-knowing ways._

_"He'll target you now, and I can't stand up to him." Harry said, looking away from Luna's intense gaze, "Not unless-"_

_"You release more of your own power. The power you fear to unleash because you believe you can't fully control it." Luna finished as Harry nodded._

_"I _know_ I can't control it. When I unleash my Shikai, it's like I've allowed some beast to go free and reek havoc." Harry said, still not meeting Luna's eye. Luna, too, looked away with a sigh as she saw. Turning back to her work, the glow on her hands intensified and morphed into a deep blue as Harry looked up at Luna in surprise._

_"W-What are you doing?" Harry asked in shock as Luna didn't look at him, focusing on her power._

_"I'm going to help you. We have exactly two minutes until Thestor finds us. We'll only need one for this." Luna said, and then Harry's pupils dilated, his pulse slowed, and his head spun while he began to see two Luna's._

_"W-What are… What did you do to… m-me…?" Harry asked, his speech slowing and slurring as he fell into unconsciousness._

* * *

><p><em>"That damn bitch!" Thestor roared as he stomped toward the forest, grass growing and insects dying as he passed them, "She got in a cheap shot this time, but next time I'll slit her throat."<em>

_Reaching the forest, Thestor placed a hand out to lean on a tree, but rapid sharps and crackling electricity shot out at him as he pulled back his hand while hissing in pain._

_"The bitch!" Thestor roared again as he clutched his hand, "She placed a barrier on the forest. Getting around it won't be hard, but it'll take a bit of time. I've got seven minutes left to end this fight."_

_Thestor stepped up to where the shield charm had caught him by surprise. His hand clenched into a fist which began to waft a dull crimson color._

_"This shouldn't take long at all." Thestor restated as he thrust his fist forward, blasting out a beam of power which obscured all vision from the resulting explosion._

* * *

><p><em>"It's a good thing I silenced these grounds from the castle." Snape said as he stood up, coughing out blood as he staggered to his feet, "Otherwise I'd have to deal with keeping idiot Gryffindors from trying to save me. Or maybe they'd help you finish me off."<em>

_"Perhaps." Lust said airily, stepping out of a tree's shadow as Snape took in the appearance change from the release of her true powers._

_Her fangs stuck out over her bottom lip, black demonic wings flapped excitedly behind her, and her hand was covered by a golden glove which had a rather unusually long middle finger to it. Though from the gash across Snape's chest, he knew it was as strong and sharp as his sword was._

_"When will we stop playing around, Severus? All this foreplay has left me hot and bothered." Lust said, fanning herself with her normal hand as Snape's face couldn't seem to twist any tighter in suppressed fury._

_"We're far enough away from the castle, and the barrier I setup has been added to." Snape said, standing to full height as Lust blinked._

_"What are you talking about?" Lust said, her beautiful eyes narrowing._

_"Lovegood must have joined the fray." Snape said, scowling as he recognized the energy signature of the odd blonde girl, "I thought it might have been Black, one of those Captains, even a Soul Reaper, or at least Crookshanks. But, I suppose beggars can't be choosers."_

_"What are you talking about?" Lust yelled in annoyance for being ignored. She was never to be ignored!_

_"You all fell into a hastily put together trap." Snape said, finally turning to Lust as she seethed in anger at his not looking directly at her and her beauty, "The only part left is for Dumbledore to enter the last unchecked part of the forest, and then we'll all be sealed."_

_"That doesn't matter." Lust said, chuckling softly with her golden hand waving dismissively, "Trapping us in here won't make any difference. You'll still die anyway."_

_"That's not the point." Snape sneered as Lust snapped a glare at him._

_"Now what are you blabbering on about, Severus?" Lust snapped as Snape glared back at her, his power rising as he slowly reached his sword at the ready.\_

_"The point wasn't to keep you all in here." Snape said as his energy became visible, "It was to keep those dunderheads of the school out while we dealt with you."_

_"Really? And why is that?" Lust mocked as Snape's power practically doubled from what she thought was his maximum earlier._

_"So this amount of Spiritual Energy and Spiritual Pressure wouldn't crush them and their pathetic souls." Snape said as he raised his blade, "Now it's time we got serious."_

_All traces of mockery and playfulness vanished from Lust's face as she gazed upon Snape and his massive amount of power. Then, in a split second, her power and his were clashing as they matched each other, destroying the middle ground between them as the trees snapped away like twigs._

_"Then I'll show you why you should have taken our offer to join all so long ago. I'm twice as powerful as I was then, Severus." Lust said as Snape glanced from her._

_Where was that imbecile Gluttony? Snape's gaze returned to Lust's one of fury as he vaguely feared for Draco and Granger, who he also sensed in the forest running from where Harry and Lovegood were._

_Just who else could be in the forest while these battles were going on?_

_"Then let us test that. Because I serve no one." Snape said as Lust's face contorted in rage and disgust._

_"Except that damnable Lily Evans." Lust spat as Snape gave no signs of having heard the slight at his deceased crush._

_"No one." Snape said, and with that last statement, Lust gave a screeching battle cry as she launched herself at him, causing an explosion as they clashed._

* * *

><p><strong>Now<strong>:

Snape and Lust stare each other down for several moments after their clash, the large trench which they created from said clash still smoking.

Then Lust vanished from Snape's normal sight. His eyes widened only bit before they adjusted to the casual speed of her movements. Snape spun on hell, his blade lashing out as it blocked and grinned against the enticing woman's steel-claw.

"You do remember this don't you, Severus sweetie? My Nazar Nail, capable of poisoning even the most toxic of poisons, and just as sharp as your blade." Lust said, her voice light as Snape's face twisted in concentration, while their two weapons tried to push the other back.

Finally, he managed it as Lust went sailing backward through the air, putting some distance between herself and Snape. Snape, however, wanted none of that as he appeared in front of her with his sword alright in mid-swing. Lust met his attack, blocking it as she pushed him from her and slashed upward, which Snape blocked easily.

They continued to exchange blows, gauging the other's moves and looking for an opening. However, Snape noted that Lust still wasn't taking him as seriously as she should have. Perhaps it was because he had not released his own powers?

"_**Hado #33: Sokatsui**_!" Snape incanted, shooting out a literal torrent of blue flames from his open palm as Lust smiled on.

Snape frowned as he saw the smile right before it was engulfed in flame. Sokatsui was one of his best spells along with Byakurai, Shakkaho, and Sajo Sabaku. Lust had known that, and Snape's frown only deepened when the blue flames split apart, showing Lust with only minor burns along her clothes.

"If I were a weaker woman, Severus, that would have killed me." Lust said, flipping her hair, "But I'm not. We no longer stand on the same level. You've allowed your powers to weaken since last we met. When you had been a teenager, you were so raw and powerful, but know… You've allowed peace to weaken you."

Lust's eyes suddenly looked up over her head as Snape's blade came down to impale the top of her skull. Lust raised her Nazar Nail, blocking the slash as she batted Snape away with the Potions Professor skidding across the grounds as he tried to stop his backward movement. If he was going to be so sour about things, Lust decided to raise the level of the fight a bit more as she appeared in front of him, her foot lashing out as he blocked with his fist. She tried to stab him in his stomach with her Nazar Nail, but he blocked that sneaky strike with the flat broad side of his double-edged sword, deflecting her Nazar Nail to the side before he at her. Lust had to bend back, her bangs being cut slightly as she did so quick. Raising her foot as she allowed her hands to grip the ground, she back-flipped as she tried to catch Snape's chin with her kick. The was not to be as Snape jumped back from her and she flipped away from him.

Snape sneered at Lust, having seen her undergarments as she flipped upright to smirk at him, her knowing that she had flashed him.

"Now, now, Severus. I thought you served no one." Lust said, "Surely we can have a little fun here."

"I serve no one." Snape said, "And I'll kill you here."

"Why is that?" Lust asked, her eyes narrowed, "You have no reason to stay here anymore. The woman is dead, Severus! Dead! But I'm here!"

"You would never understand, you vile woman." Snape sneered as Lust was quickly losing patience, "The concept of love is something that eludes you. That is why you are Lust."

"I understand love!" Lust shouted, jumping at Snape as she lost her cool, slashing away at him while he blocked each of her strikes, "That damnable Lily Evans! Your love for her should have been nothing in the face of my beauty! My charm! My allure!"

"You still don't understand." Snape said, putting some distance between him and her virtual onslaught of attacks with a quick Flash-step. Raising his sword high and quick, Snape brought it down as dark purple energy flowed off of it, waving menacingly toward Lust.

Lust's eyes widened slightly at the new technique Severus was showing. Then she calmed herself as she waved her Nazar Nail before her, it scarping the air as a toxic purple-colored aura wafted off of it. The energy engulfed her in itself as it created a sphere around her person while the crest of intense power from Snape's downward slash sped at her. It moved like a wildfire, speeding along through the ground and air, ripping both apart as it went. The two energies collided and grinded against one another went the wave met the bubble, both cancelling out the other in an explosion which sent Lust rocketing back.

As the dust began cleared, Snape sighed out, feeling a bit drained from the amount of power he had put behind the wave.

"I wasn't expecting an attack like that, Severus. What do you call that one?" Lust asked as she came out of the settling dust cloud.

"I stopped naming techniques a long time ago." Snape said as he raised his sword, ready for another bout against the fabulous woman, "When Kisuke Urahara left, and I stopped cleansing souls, that was the same time I stopped everything that had to do with the Soul Reapers and their organization, including my own training in their arts."

"I'm sure you did." Lust said, grinning like a cat, "I mean, I would as well if the Soul Reapers had been the cause of ending your little friendship with that pitiful Lily Evans."

"Don't you dare." Snape snarled as Lust looked angry at his defensive behavior of the dead woman.

"You weren't allowed to tell her what you did as a Soul Reaper. Everything was just too much for you to keep up with. Keeping the Hollows at bay, helping Kisuke Urahara with his experiments, studying for your classes, and helping out any wayward soul along the way." Lust sneered as Snape narrowed his eyes at her.

"Enough." Snape said as Lust went on.

"But then, by your Fifth Year, James Potter and his friends were making their own out-of-bounds excursions. You thought they might have become Soul Reapers, just like you. You thought the one thing that made you different from them- that made you better than them, had been taken away from you."

"I said to be silent." Snape said rushing at Lust, whose toxic nail clashed against his double-edged sword.

"So you became erratic, and that little snot Lily Evans started asking questions." Lust said mockingly, "And then you cracked. It was either tell her and not be special anymore, not have the security of your own power- the power you wanted to protect her and love her- or lie to her and have her forever out of your grasp."

"Enough!" Snape roared, his fingers pointed directly at Lust's heart, "**Hado #4: Byakurai**!"

Lust disappeared as the powerful low-level Kido punctured a hole in the ground, uprooting the ground around it and practically vaporizing a large portion of it.

"So of course you made the right decision; making your own option. You just couldn't live with yourself if she got hurt because she thought she'd be able to help you. And you wouldn't dare lie to your precious Lily. So it was when she started talking about your fellow Slytherins that you jumped at the opportunity to throw her off. Having always been drawn to the Dark Arts anyway, you confessed your liking them. Then later on-"

"Shut up!" Snape shouted, shooting multiple blasts at Lust, who batted the weak Kido-blasts with her normal hand.

"You became so steeped in those Dark Arts, allowing yourself to sink deeper into them as you took them as a form of release. Though you never did truly understand the little twat's aversion, and I for one don't think you should have cared anyway."

Lust stopped for a second when Snape appeared in front of her with his fist reared back. She dodged his punch, but her legs were tripped from underneath her. However, spinning in midair, she helicopter-kicked him back, with Snape blocking the rain of blows with the flat side of his sword.

"You were just so very insecure back then, blinded by your duties as a Soul Reaper and your attraction to the Dark side. You imagined the little shrew would find it all impressive once the danger had passed and you became a true Death Eater."

"Silence!" Snape shouted, dropping his sword completely as he raised his arm forward and outstretched it fully toward Lust. Using his now free arm, Snape gripped his firing arm with his free arm for extra support with his firing hand's palm facing flat toward Lust, "_**Hado #88**_-!"

Lust's eyes widened in disbelief that he would cast such a high-level Kido while the battlefield was so limited. If she remembered correctly, then only master-level practitioners could cast spells of the 80th level.

But then again, Severus had always been an impress one…

"_**Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho**_!" Snape roared thunderously as his palm began to glow a light blue mere nanoseconds before firing off a gigantic beam of electrically charged spiritual energy. Lust's eyes nearly popped out of her pretty little skull as she jumped far to the side, while the massive beam of electrical energy destroyed all the area between Snape and wherever the beam had stopped at, producing an enormous explosion.

* * *

><p>"The hell was that?" Thestor asked, shouldering his sword as he gazed off in the distance where smoke and flame were rising, "That must have been one powerful attack. I can sense Lust over that way. Shit, I don't want her opponent."<p>

"You don't me as one, either." a voice said sinisterly behind Thestor, whose eyes widened as he felt a sword stab through his heart.

And then he blinked, sweat forming on his brow as his shaky hand felt where he had been stabbed, feeling no wound nor mark. Shakily looking back, Thestor's eyes widened at the sight of the being that gave him a vision of his own death.

There stood Harry Potter, but something was wrong. Very wrong and severely off. First off, Potter wasn't wearing his stupid glasses. The second thing Thestor noticed was that Potter's eyes were darker than they normally were, holding an impassive yet slightly sadistic look in them. The last thing that Thestor found most unusual was the golden crown that sat atop Potter's head as though he were a king.

"Whoa there, Potter." Thestor said, whistling, "Look at you. Looks like ya finally snapped. And the crown, too? What got into ya-?"

Thestor found his shoulder gashed open as he stared at the spot Potter had been. Looking over the cut, Thestor found Potter standing behind him with blood dripping from his sword.

"It's what's been unleashed that you should concern yourself with, boy." Harry said, in a voice not his own. The voice was impassive, cold, and wicked to the core as he held his sword up to gleam in the light of the fading day, "Now, prepare yourself."

Thestor scowled as he readied his own sword. He felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand. He couldn't slack off anymore. He only had three more minutes to finish Potter and hunt down Lovegood before the plan really got started, "Don't have to tell me twice."

Raising his sword, Thestor raked the flat side against his chest, "_**Want the World**_, **Avaritia**!"

Thestor's energy billowed out as dust kicked up, obscuring Harry's vision as he watched with a look of little interest.

Then, Thestor stepped forward from the dust color, his robes gone as he stood with his chest bare. All of his visible skin had changed color, resembling a cobalt blue color as Thestor flexed. Crimson red demon wings flapping slowly behind his back. A demonic-looking staff held in his right hand where his sword had been. The dark wood was spiraled by metallic bones which wrapped up the staff to the back of the skull that rested atop it. Clutched in the skull's mouth was a giant ruby orb.

"Time to stop messin' around." Thestor said as he smirked, standing to full height from his slightly crouched position, "Look upon my Avaritia, and shiver with fear! My name is Greed, and I want the world!"

"Then let us end this." Harry said, in that calm tone of voice which seemed to echo around them. William Thestor, or rather now Greed, grinned like a madman as he pointed his staff at Harry.

"Lets." Greed said, as the ruby in the mouth of the skull on his staff began to flame, "_**Crimson Flame**_!"

Flames as hot as those in hell burst forth from the staff's ruby as Harry stood impassively, his sword raised to fight as the flames approached like a flood. The only gesture Harry made that said he was aware of the flames was the slight narrowing of his eyes when the flames were close enough to both illuminate and heat his face.

* * *

><p>"I wonder if I did the right thing." Luna said to herself as she moved through the forest, blood trailing down her arm as she gripped it with the other, "He seemed so frightened at first…"<p>

Luna sighed before her eyes widened. In one direction a giant explosion had occurred, and not even a minute later a fire as tall as Ravenclaw tower was raging.

"I wonder if I should have-"

"Lovegood, is that you?" a voice rang out as Luna looked up, seeing Draco and Hermione.

"Yes, hello, Draco." Luna said as Hermione gasped when Luna reached them, seeing her bloodied arm, "Do either of you know any simple healing spells? I don't have much power left in me."

"I'll do it." Hermione said taking out her wand and muttering incantations as the blood began to stop and recede back up Luna's arm while Luna could feel the wound closing.

"Thank you." Luna said as she began walking once more, "We had best get far away from those two battles. Once Professor Dumbledore begins his own, we won't have much-"

A sonic boom and sudden gust of wind from their right bowled Hermione and Draco over as Luna looked vaguely worried.

"I spoke to soon. We had best stay here." Luna said, sitting down under a tree as she tried to recover her lost energies.

"Fine with me." Draco said as he scrambled to her side while Hermione chose to stand.

"What is going on, Luna?" Hermione asked as Luna sighed.

"A war, of sorts." Luna replied as Hermione and Draco looked shocked.

"A war? Between who?" Hermione asked as Luan looked up at her and then glanced at Draco.

"The wizards and the Soul Reapers against Hell." Luna said as Draco gape and Hermione stared.

"Why are they fighting against Hell? How can they fight against it?" Hermione asked as Luna shrugged casually.

"Because it isn't physically Hell they're fighting against. Their fighting against Hell's most terrible fighters; the Sins of Humanity." Luna said, gazing off in the distance.

"The Sins of Humanity?" Draco echoed as Luna nodded.

"Oh yes! They are the collective evils of humanity. They sit in the deepest level of Hell, feeding upon the sins of every being." Luna said.

And then, as she was about to go on, she and the others froze in place as they heard a yawn above them.

"Shut up, will ya." an child-like voice said as they looked up in shock to see the young boy who had been with Thestor and the old man, "Who do I have to disembowel to get some sleep around here."

"How about me?" a voice sounded as Luna snapped her attention to the voice.

"You…?"

"Yes, me. Hello to you as well, Luna Lovegood."

* * *

><p>Snape coughed up blood onto the forest floor as a high heel boot slammed into his back, forcing him to the ground.<p>

"Isn't it this just ironic, Severus?" Lust said, digging her hell into the downed man, "Lily might have grown to love you romantically, as she certainly loved you as a friend, if you hadn't loved Dark Magic so much. If you hadn't been drawn to such loathsome people and acts."

"I'm going to lop off your head." Snape snapped as he tried to rise, but Lust brought her heel down harshly on his back, making him hiss in agony as it stabbed into him.

"And yet, here today with her dead and buried, you fight me. It's almost laughable. It's like your pitiful love for the girl is the reason you truly did it all. Like your own inner darkness had nothing to do with it." Lust said, shaking her head.

"You know nothing, fool." Snape rasped out, reaching for his sword. Lust decided that simply wasn't going to do. So, she slammed her other foot onto his hand, probably breaking it in the process, before she resumed her conqueror's position over him.

"It's like saying that it was all just your desire for Lily's admiration that drew you to the Dark Arts in the first place. Like she's the real reason you're protecting the Potter boy. The reason you're fighting me." Lust said, brushing off the assumption, "You're not that type of person, Severus. You're like me. We are people that don't do good deeds out of love."

"You and I are nothing alike." Snape spat as Lust grew angry, stomping on his spine repeatedly.

"I loved you, Severus! But all you could do was see that filthy little brat! When you had called her a Mudblood in a fit of anger and humiliation caused by those nasty boys' bullying you, I thought it would be over. And I was right! It had been the last straw for the little twat, Lily Evans." Lust said, her face one of bliss before it shattered into rage, "But then you wept and groaned over losing her, as if she had died then. Then, the little brat gave you a chance. She asked you if you still intended to become a Death Eater. I knew you better than she did. I knew you wouldn't deny it. But even I didn't expect her to severe all ties with you, even despite your pitiful and profuse apologies."

"Shut up." Snape coughed out, "You don't understand anything."

"Oh, I don't, do I?" Lust said, seething as she once again stomped Snape's back, "I understand quite a bit. What I understand is that you became weak. You stopped relying on yourself, and started looking to that little bitch for support."

"I will kill you." Snape seethed as Lust laughed lightly.

"Oh, Severus, you slay me." Lust laughed.

But then, her laugh was cut short as she gasped. Looking down shakily, she found her chest pierced through by a golden whip of some sort. Regaining herself from shock, Lust adopted an apathetic look as she gazed back over her shoulder, seeing two men standing behind her.

"No, he won't. But I will." a melancholy voice said as Lust sighed.

"Why I've never." Lust said offendedly as she pulled herself from being impaled by the whip, "No man has ever been so bold as to touch my chest without at least buying me a drink first."

Lust chose to ignore how the man with the golden whip had flashed pass her and taken Severus away from the battlefield. She'd kill the one before her, and then she'd deal with the other.

And then, Severus Snape would personally be introduced to the term "heart-broken" when she destroyed his still beating heart in his chest.

Yes, that sounded like a very delicious plan…

"Well, forgive my friend, then." the man before Lust said, his grinning face never wavering as he began to spin his sword, "Though I must say, you are one beautiful woman. I think I've found my first true love."

Lust couldn't help but grin. At least this long blond haired man exchanged in proper witty banter with her, "Is that so? You should know that you're not the first to claim such while gazing upon me."

"Yes, though I'm glad to gaze." the man said, "I'm Shinji Hirako, Captain of the Fifth Division."

"I am Lust." Lust greeted.

"That's a lovely fragrance." Shinji commented as Lust frowned lightly.

"I'm not wearing any." Lust replied as Shinji's grin seemed to grow.

"I wasn't talking about you." Shinji responded as Lust gasped.

Why was… Why was everything upside-down?

"Well then." the upside-down Shinji said, "Shall we begin, Lady Lust?"

"Indeed." Lust said, not at all intimidated by whatever ability he was evoking.

* * *

><p>"You are in my way, Shinigami." Harry said, his cold and impassive gaze on the man in front of him.<p>

"Sorry, kid." Love replied, "But I'll take it from here."

"Oh no you're not!" Greed shouted as he rose from the ground, a long gash on his torso bleeding wilding as he leaned heavily on his staff, "I'm gonna kill you, Potter, or whoever the hell you are in there!"

"I highly doubt that." came the cold sneer from Harry's mouth as he sheathed his blade, "Do with him as you like."

And with that, Harry turned away, beginning to walk away when Greed's bloody mouth became to roar more taunts and jeers.

"Potter! Don't you turn your back on me!" Greed shouted, even though Harry didn't glance back nor stop his stride, "I said don't turn your back on me, dammit!"

"Hey, buddy." Love said, his own sword ready and primed to kill one of the Seven Demon Lords of Hell, even though the job was already half done, "I'm your opponent now. Eyes on me."

"Shut up, Shinigami!" Greed spat, his body glowing as so did his irk at Harry's blatant dismissal of him, "I'm Greed, damn you! Lord of the Fifth Outer Ring of Hell! I am Greed, dammit! Greed the Avaricious!"

Harry still gave no signs that he had heard the man shouting as Greed climbed to his feet, hate and anger fueling his power.

"_**I am Greed, Potter**_! _**And I want the world**_!" Greed screamed, focusing his hate as his body glowed a cobalt blue before he threw his head back and screeched for all the Heavens to hear, "_**And I get what I want**_! **AHH**!"

Harry only turned back to stare impassively at the sight before him. Greed had channeled a very large amount of power in his anger. Harry's clam gaze widened only a fraction as he saw Greed's body morph grotesquely into something that didn't even resemble human anymore. No, his form now was that of the beast he had figured Greed to be ever since they had first clashed swords.

"So…" Harry began, his voice still cold and detached as he watched Greed's transformation, "Now your outer appearance shall reflect your inner most being; a primal beast who only knows destruction. How pitiful…"

"Whoa there, buddy. I think this is a little extreme just because you got the cold shoulder." Love said, backing away from Greed's transforming both in order to not be crushed.

Indeed, Greed's appearance was reflecting that of a primal beast as Harry had said. Greed's form had taken on an appearance like that of a typical dragon, but the skull staff Greed had been fight with was now on his head, dead in the center of Greed's forehead. Greed's dragon form had red eyes. Its long body was covered in a thick armored hide which was the same cobalt blue that Greed's skin and aura had been. Harry had quickly realized, while fighting Greed earlier, that Greed's skin near impenetrable. Though because of his own ability to perfectly control and shape his own energy, was able to cut through the skin. Harry dismissed further thoughts as he gazed up to see that Greed's dragon body had two fairly short arms, though, as Love had tried to strike at Greed in mid-transformation, Harry also saw that this was not a disadvantage when Greed was able to slam Love through a few trees without struggle. Harry gave Greed's form a critical look before he jumped back and into a tree, dodging a lashing from Greed's tail. He observed that along with the large intimidating body, Greed's already powerful demonic aura had increased in potency, seeing that it's mere presence wafting off Greed was able to easily disintegrate rocks and young trees without even having the dragon come in contact with them.

"… I can handle this." Harry said to himself with narrowed eyes. He seemed to be having a mental debate before he flared his impressive energy, blowing away the toxic demonic aura before it could affect him while his guard was down, "Just let me handle this, and it'll be one less enemy you need to deal with."

"_**Potter**_!" the demonic beast of Hell roared mightily as Harry raised a brow in surprise.

"Perhaps you are not as lost as I first though." Harry stated as he redrew his sword.

"_**Potter**_!_** Death to Potter**_!_** Kill Potter**_!" the dragon raged as Harry narrowed his eyes while he saw Love appear in the tree beside his, cough and hacking.

"Or perhaps I was right in the end." Harry said, trailing off as he jumped from his tree, his sword already reared back for a powerful swing as dark green energy wafted heavily from it.

* * *

><p>Dumbledore hated the use of a sword. It was such a primitive weapon when compared the vast and versatile uses of magic. One could be civilized and duel while rarely having to ever move. It showed true genius, skill, study, and concentration to best an opponent with your knowledge and strategy rather than brute force.<p>

However, even Albus Dumbledore couldn't help but praise whomever first tempered the weapon to reality as he blocked another slash from his ancient old.

The man's appearance had changed, but it was him. Of that, if little else, Dumbledore was sure. The man before him was none other than Daeln Saint, an old school rival. The man had dogged him in Hogwarts, and then opposed him in everything else in life before he disappeared off the face of the earth. No one reported a death, but Dumbledore supposed that since the man was slashing away at him while he himself was blocking, the man was very much alive and well.

Though his eyes were now yellow instead of blue. And his hair now a bleached blond unlike the kent-black it was in his earlier, the scar the man had under his eyes were too much of an obvious and glaring give-away to his identity.

Daeln seemed to curse under his breath as Dumbledore continued to near gracefully weave through his attacks. But could Dumbledore be blamed? Once one had mastered the art of dueling, the art of reading an opponents' hand twitches and flickers with a wand, it was almost child's play to calculate when and where Daeln's blade would fall and with just how much power it would. Daeln, however, seemed to see that Dumbledore was predicting his strikes and using his predictions to avoid his attacks, parry them, or even counter-attack. Yet, even the great Albus Dumbledore couldn't find an opening great enough to press the advantage. So, he was fine with merely fencing and parrying his opponent until someone came to his aid.

After Albus avoided yet another strike, Daeln seemed to finally snap.

"Stop holding back and fight me, you wrinkly old bastard!" Daeln shouted as he draped his sword over his shoulder, "_**Reek havoc, **_**Ira**!"

Seeing the man enveloped in a cloud of smoke gave Dumbledore a breather he wasn't aware that he had needed. He had no clue he had been so out of shape and outclassed until his knees nearly collapsed from under him. If he weren't supplementing his stamina and abilities with magic, then Dumbledore was sure that their battle would have ended long ago. The ancient wizard took one last deep breath before rising to full height and taking his Elder Wand out once more. Fighting fair was all well and good in a duel of honor, but in situations of life-or-death, even Albus Dumbledore in all his infinite good qualities knew when it was time to stop fighting fair.

Then Daeln stepped out of the cloud of smoke, and Albus became immediately glad he had decided to stop fighting fair. Because the sight before him certainly wasn't fair in the least.

For starters, the man had grown to nearly double Dumbledore's impressive height and more than four times his build. He had dark crimson demon wings which flapped excitedly on his back. His piercing yellow eyes seemed to glow with an evil power. His hands had turned to claws which gleamed in the light of the forest. Dumbledore vaguely recognized it was still daylight, if just barely. Perhaps another twenty to thirty minutes before the sun was primed to set. Turning his attention back to the man, Dumbledore realized that all the rest of the man's demonic features were hidden away inside the satanic cloak and hood he wore.

"Ye, gaze upon me mortal and know this is the end of your days. I am Wrath, and I bring with me the destruction of all you love." Daeln- No, _Wrath_, said, raising his arms as though he were preaching love and peace.

"What has become of you, Daeln?" Dumbledore asked, "I always knew you were a bitter person, but to go to such dark lengths-"

But the man merely laughed him off. Laughing low and menacing as Dumbledore readied himself for another round in their battle.

"The bitter man you once knew, Albus Dumbledore was devoured long ago. His anger and hate for the world were quite delectable, I might add. Anger, hate, madness, and resentment… they all begot Wrath!"

"I am Wrath! Lord of the Third Inner Ring of Hell! Wrath the Furious!" Wrath shouted into the air as Dumbledore decided to kick things off.

Dumbledore waved his wand, sending out a few stunners before he watched Wrath bat them away as though they were paper balls.

"Time to stop playing around, Dumbledore!" Wrath said as he raised an enormous clawed hand. Much to Dumbledore's shock, Wrath vanished from his sight, apparently moving much too fast for even his magically enhanced sight to follow and detect.

At that moment, Dumbledore felt a fear grip him that he hadn't felt in many years since his duel with Grindelwald. It was the fear that he might fail those he wished to protect. It was a fear he had, in his prime after the epic duel, enjoyed to reflect on to keep himself humble and humane when dealing with others that sought to stand against him and peace. It was a fear he associated with being human.

But in the moment, Dumbledore hated that feeling because ever since he had possessed the Elder Wand after that fateful duel, in the back of his mind, Dumbledore had come to also associate that feeling of fear with weakness. While possessing the greatest of wands, should he not be strong enough to slay whatever evils came to his doorstep?

It was because of that fear that he would one day fail, that Dumbledore had shied away from the spotlight and took to teaching at Hogwarts once again. And he saw that Harry would one day follow his path, because they were much the same in that respect.

Dumbledore knew that from the near toxic demonic power which had rolled off Wrath after his transformation, he wouldn't stand a chance. From the moment he found a sharp pain run through the course of his body, to the moment it felt like he had been rough tossed in a shredder while knocked off his feet and into a tree. He knew he couldn't win this battle. The multiple claw marks appearing all over his body, and easily ripping through his magically protected robes were only a more clear and physical indication of that truth. The deep and painful lacerations all over his body only helped him sink deeper into despair as he realized it all.

Then, there was a glow. A green medical glow that Dumbledore had not seen in many years as a kind-faced woman knelt over his bleeding form.

"You should not have fought a Lord of Hell, Headmaster Dumbledore." the kind woman said as she gave him a concerned look while healing him, "Especially one of the inner circles of Hell." the woman turned to address someone Dumbledore couldn't see, but heard the clashing of weapons to iron-hid skin, "Shall you be in need of assistance, Captain Muguruma?"

"No." a stern voice shouted back at her, "Get the hell outta here with the old fart, Unohana. I got this."

"As you wish." the woman, Unohana, said gently as she unsheathed the sword that hung from a rope off her shoulder like a handbag, "Your wounds shall heal much faster in Minazuki's stomach, Headmaster."

"P-Please, call me Al-Albus." Dumbledore coughed out, trying to ease her worries, "It's the le-least, given the fact th-that you're s-saving my life."

"Alright then, Albus." Unohana said, "I am Retsu Unohana, Captain of the Fourth Division and Head of the Medical Corps."

"It's v-very nice to meet you, C-Captain Unohana." Albus said, smiling softly as he saw Unohana begin to unsheathe her sword, which glowed not unlike that of her healing ability.

"Please, I insist that you call me Retsu. It's the least, given I'm saving your noble life." Unohana said, "_**Purify the Flesh**_, **Minazuki**…"

"If y-you insist… Retsu…" Dumbledore said, before all he knew was deep dark dampness.

"Get going." Kensei said sternly as Unohana didn't even bat an eyelash at her colleague's severely decisive attitude. Besides, it was best for him to do the fighting, Unohana mused as she gently jumped atop Minazuki.

"Already then, I'll be off." Unohana said as she cast her gentle and soft gaze to her fellow Captain's back while he held his sword at the ready, "Will you be in need of medical assistance afterward?"

"No." Kensei said, not even bothering to take his eye off Wrath while his energy swirled about him.

"Then farewell, Captain Muguruma." Unohana said as Minazuki flapped it's giant flippers and took off in the opposite direction of the battle.

Kensei glared at Wrath while his knife-like Zanpakuto began to glow, "Ban-_**KAI**_!"

* * *

><p>"I'm telling you; we're lost!" Toshiro said, stomping his way through the forest behind Shuhei.<p>

"And why would you say that? The kitchen is right over this next ridge! I can feel it in my bones!" Shuhei said as Toshiro glared at his back, having had enough of the foolishness.

"I say this because we're in the middle of a FUCKING FOREST!" Toshiro shouted, "AND WE'VE BEEN CHASED BY SPIDERS, HALF-HORSE PEOPLE WITH BOWS AND ARROWS, A THREE-HEADED DOG, SCROPIONS THAT BURPED _FIRE_, AND I THINK SOMETHING _INVISIBLE_ BIT OFF THE BACK OF MY CLOAK!"

"O-Oh…" Shuhei said nervously, backing away from his enraged friend, "Th-That all…?"

"NO, THAT IS NOT ALL, YOU BASTARD!" Toshiro yelled in Shuhei's face, jabbing his index finger in the taller boy's chest "THAT'S NOT TO MENTION THE FACT THAT WE RAN INTO A WOLF-MAN-THING, A GIANT, HALF-HORSE-BRID-THINGS, SOME LITTLE EVIL WOOD DEMONS WITH SHARP CLAWS, AND _ELVIS PRELEY_!"

"B-But, we also saw some good stuff here, too, r-right?" Shuhei said, gulping when Toshiro's icy glare intensified, "Remember the unicorns, Toshiro? You liked them."

"THEY WERE THE _ONLY_ GOOD PART ABOUT THIS ENTIRE DAMP, DARK, AND INSANE PLACE!" Toshiro yelled as Shuhei threw up his hands in defeat.

"Okay, okay! We'll get out of here!" Shuhei shouted before pointing in a direction, "I think I saw a fire that way, and when I did, I saw the outline of the castle. Let's go."

"Wait." Toshiro said, stopping his friend to give him a look, "You want to go _toward_ the fire? The _massive_ fire, _and_ lightning, _and_ explosions, _and_ purple gas, _and dragon_ that we were trying to steer clear of while getting to the kitchens?"

"Do you want out of this place, or not?" Shuhei asked as Toshiro sighed, crossing his arms.

"Fine, but if we die. I'll haunt you in the afterlife." Toshiro said as Shuhei gave him a look.

"If we die, then we get reincarnated as humans here in the Living World." Shuhei said as Toshiro blinked, not having known that, "Now come on and let's go."

* * *

><p>"I have had enough of this!" Lust shouted, blood dripping from her forehead where Shinji had cut her.<p>

Half of Shinji's Shihakusho and Captain's haori were shredded away while his torso looked to have been clawed at. Beside him was Rose, who didn't seem much better as he knelt in the dirt with ragged breath.

Lust was still seeing everything upside-down and backward, but she had beginning to figure out the little trick as she discovered that everything was reversed in every sense. She had been starting to regain her calm, but it was annoying her more and more as Shinji's grin was near cat-like in it's manner of sneakiness.

"Enough of this!" Lust said as she held her Nazar Nail to her mouth, licking up it in a erotic show, "_**Desire of their Flesh**_, **Libidinem**!"

"What the-?" but Shinji never got to finish his exclamation as he found himself sliced through and his blood gushing from the wound faster than he could follow. Rose next to him watched on in horror as he fell to the ground, his Zanpakuto's reserve world shattering around them as three claw-like marks appeared on his torso gushing blood like a geyser.

When Shinji found the strength to look up, he stared in shock at the only female Lord of Hell. Her initial appearance hadn't changed much, but the additions to it sure did make her look brand new. Like the large black angel wings which had sprouted from the seductive woman's back, giving her the look of a fallen angel of peace. Shinji was sure they weren't merely there for decoration, and would bet that they allowed her to take flight, if not even more in battle. She gained a long, prehensile tail, Shinji noted. It seemed to from either her back or her wings themselves, but Shinji didn't care. Large pieces of armor that resemble the discs formed around her shoulders. The most frightening of all was her clawed hands, both of which now carried her Nazar Nail.

"Now you two get to die while gazing upon my true form!" Lust laughed as Shinji struggled to his feet, slowly using his own Spiritual Energy to dull his pain and stem the bleeding of his wounds.

"This is gonna be tough, man." Shinji said as Rose nodded in agreement.

"Shall we danced to the sweet melody of battle?" Rose asked as he raised his golden whip high and brought it down with a crack.

"Let's play her a melody of death." Shinji said as he began to twirl his sword on his index finger.

Lust only laughed lightly at them. They would soon known heartbreak before the might of the universe's most alluring woman. Her, Lust the Lascivious!


	18. Start of Salvation

_**This is it! The final countdown!**_

_**Hope you enjoy.**_

**Chapter 18: Start of Salvation**

* * *

><p><strong>Last Time<strong>:

_"So…" Harry began, his voice still cold and detached as he watched Greed's transformation, "Now your outer appearance shall reflect your inner most being; a primal beast who only knows destruction. How pitiful…"_

_"Whoa there, buddy. I think this is a little extreme just because you got the cold shoulder." Love said, backing away from Greed's transforming both in order to not be crushed._

_Indeed, Greed's appearance was reflecting that of a primal beast as Harry had said. Greed's form had taken on an appearance like that of a typical dragon, but the skull staff Greed had been fight with was now on his head, dead in the center of Greed's forehead. Greed's dragon form had red eyes. Its long body was covered in a thick armored hide which was the same cobalt blue that Greed's skin and aura had been. Harry had quickly realized, while fighting Greed earlier, that Greed's skin near impenetrable. Though because of his own ability to perfectly control and shape his own energy, was able to cut through the skin. Harry dismissed further thoughts as he gazed up to see that Greed's dragon body had two fairly short arms, though, as Love had tried to strike at Greed in mid-transformation, Harry also saw that this was not a disadvantage when Greed was able to slam Love through a few trees without struggle. Harry gave Greed's form a critical look before he jumped back and into a tree, dodging a lashing from Greed's tail. He observed that along with the large intimidating body, Greed's already powerful demonic aura had increased in potency, seeing that it's mere presence wafting off Greed was able to easily disintegrate rocks and young trees without even having the dragon come in contact with them._

_"… I can handle this." Harry said to himself with narrowed eyes. He seemed to be having a mental debate before he flared his impressive energy, blowing away the toxic demonic aura before it could affect him while his guard was down, "Just let me handle this, and it'll be one less enemy you need to deal with."_

_"__**Potter**__!" the demonic beast of Hell roared mightily as Harry raised a brow in surprise._

_"Perhaps you are not as lost as I first though." Harry stated as he redrew his sword._

_"__**Potter**__!__** Death to Potter**__!__** Kill Potter**__!" the dragon raged as Harry narrowed his eyes while he saw Love appear in the tree beside his, cough and hacking._

_"Or perhaps I was right in the end." Harry said, trailing off as he jumped from his tree, his sword already reared back for a powerful swing as dark green energy wafted heavily from it._

_"I wonder if I did the right thing." Luna said to herself as she moved through the forest, blood trailing down her arm as she gripped it with the other, "He seemed so frightened at first…"_

_Luna sighed before her eyes widened. In one direction a giant explosion had occurred, and not even a minute later a fire as tall as Ravenclaw tower was raging._

_"I wonder if I should have-"_

_"Lovegood, is that you?" a voice rang out as Luna looked up, seeing Draco and Hermione._

_"What is going on, Luna?" Hermione asked as Luna sighed._

_"A war, of sorts." Luna replied as Hermione and Draco looked shocked._

_"A war? Between who?" Hermione asked as Luan looked up at her and then glanced at Draco._

_"The wizards and the Soul Reapers against Hell." Luna said as Draco gape and Hermione stared._

_"Why are they fighting against Hell? How can they fight against it?" Hermione asked as Luna shrugged casually._

_"Because it isn't physically Hell they're fighting against. Their fighting against Hell's most terrible fighters; the Sins of Humanity." Luna said, gazing off in the distance._

_"The Sins of Humanity?" Draco echoed as Luna nodded._

_"Oh yes! They are the collective evils of humanity. They sit in the deepest level of Hell, feeding upon the sins of every being." Luna said._

_And then, as she was about to go on, she and the others froze in place as they heard a yawn above them._

_"Shut up, will ya." an child-like voice said as they looked up in shock to see the young boy who had been with Thestor and the old man, "Who do I have to _disembowel_ to get some sleep around here?"_

_"How about me?" a voice sounded as Luna snapped her attention to the voice._

_"You…?"_

_"Yes, me. Hello to you as well, Luna Lovegood."_

_"You should not have fought a Lord of Hell, Headmaster Dumbledore." the kind woman said as she gave him a concerned look while healing him, "Especially one of the inner circles of Hell." the woman turned to address someone Dumbledore couldn't see, but heard the clashing of weapons to iron-hid skin, "Shall you be in need of assistance, Captain Muguruma?"_

_"No." a stern voice shouted back at her, "Get the hell outta here with the old fart, Unohana. I got this."_

_"As you wish." the woman, Unohana, said gently as she unsheathed the sword that hung from a rope off her shoulder like a handbag, "Your wounds shall heal much faster in Minazuki's stomach, Headmaster."_

_"P-Please, call me Al-Albus." Dumbledore coughed out, trying to ease her worries, "It's the le-least, given the fact th-that you're s-saving my life."_

_"Alright then, Albus." Unohana said softly, "I am Retsu Unohana, Captain of the Fourth Division and Head of the Medical Corps."_

_"It's v-very nice to meet you, C-Captain Unohana." Albus said, smiling softly as he saw Unohana begin to unsheathe her sword, which glowed not unlike that of her healing ability._

_"Please, I insist that you call me Retsu. It's the least, given I'm saving your noble life." Unohana said, "__**Purify the Flesh**__, __**Minazuki**__…"_

_"If y-you insist… Retsu…" Dumbledore said, before all he knew was deep dark dampness._

_"Get going." Kensei said sternly as Unohana didn't even bat an eyelash at her colleague's severely decisive attitude. Besides, it was best for him to do the fighting, Unohana mused as she gently jumped atop Minazuki._

_"Already then, I'll be off." Unohana said as she cast her gentle and soft gaze to her fellow Captain's back while he held his sword at the ready, "Will you be in need of medical assistance afterward?"_

_"No." Kensei said, not even bothering to take his eye off Wrath while his energy swirled about him._

_"Then farewell, Captain Muguruma." Unohana said as Minazuki flapped it's giant flippers and took off in the opposite direction of the battle._

_Kensei glared at Wrath while his knife-like Zanpakuto began to glow, "Ban-__**KAI**__!"_

_"Enough of this!" Lust said as she held her Nazar Nail to her mouth, licking up it in a erotic show, "__**Desire of their Flesh**__, __**Libidinem**__!"_

_"What the-?" but Shinji never got to finish his exclamation as he found himself sliced through and his blood gushing from the wound faster than he could follow. Rose next to him watched on in horror as he fell to the ground, his Zanpakuto's reserve world shattering around them as three claw-like marks appeared on his torso gushing blood like a geyser._

_When Shinji found the strength to look up, he stared in shock at the only female Lord of Hell. Her initial appearance hadn't changed much, but the additions to it sure did make her look brand new. Like the large black angel wings which had sprouted from the seductive woman's back, giving her the look of a fallen angel of peace. Shinji was sure they weren't merely there for decoration, and would bet that they allowed her to take flight, if not even more in battle. She gained a long, prehensile tail, Shinji noted. It seemed to from either her back or her wings themselves, but Shinji didn't care. Large pieces of armor that resemble the discs formed around her shoulders. The most frightening of all was her clawed hands, both of which now carried her Nazar Nail._

_"Now you two get to die while gazing upon my true form!" Lust laughed as Shinji struggled to his feet, slowly using his own Spiritual Energy to dull his pain and stem the bleeding of his wounds._

_"This is gonna be tough, man." Shinji said as Rose nodded in agreement._

_"Shall we danced to the sweet melody of battle?" Rose asked as he raised his golden whip high and brought it down with a crack._

_"Let's play her a melody of death." Shinji said as he began to twirl his sword on his index finger._

_Lust only laughed lightly at them. They would soon known heartbreak before the might of the universe's most alluring woman. Her, Lust the Lascivious!_

* * *

><p><strong>Now<strong>:

"It is over…" Harry said with a cold impassive air as he sheathed his blade with an audible click. Over to the side, where Harry's gaze settled, lay William Thestor, or Greed the Avaricious as he was now. The man was lain down in a pool of his own blood while clutching his Death Lure staff tightly in his clawed hand. Harry watched impassively as the pitiful fool clung to what little life he had left.

"Dammit! Don't you look down on me!" Greed shouted as Harry continued to gaze down upon him, "I'll kill you, Potter! Do you here me! You're dead! DEAD!"

Or perhaps the dullard had a death wish…?

Suddenly, Harry's body seized up as he clutched at his head and fell to his knees, the crown that sat beautifully atop his head began to crack. Harry's eyes went wide open, regaining their warmth and life; like a long winter had just given way to a lovely spring. After a moment, the crown shattered into dust which scattered along the breeze while Harry hacked and cough, his once calm face now drenched in sweat.

"I hate… d-doing that…" Harry admitted somberly to himself as he slowly picked himself up from the ground, "I'll gonna… g-get… Luna for t-this…"

"What the…?" Greed muttered to himself, seeing the change in Harry's entire being. Even the boy's Spiritual Pressure had fluctuated wildly during the time, and now it was far lower- not even half that- of what it had been while that crown was on his head, "What the hell was that…?"

"My Zanpakuto." Harry admitted, having heard Greed's mutterings.

"W-What?" Greed's eyes widened, having all this time believed Harry had been fighting him without his initial release.

"Yes, that was my Zanpakuto you were fighting, _Regis Mundi_, or the World King, in plain English." Harry said, seating himself on a tree stump while he regained his breath and energy, "Though luckily, Luna wasn't able to pull my Shikai out completely with whatever power that was she used on me… Then things would have been truly disastrous…"

Greed didn't know how to respond as he stared dumbly at Harry. Not a complete Shikai?

"I'm going now." Harry said, standing up and stretching while taking in a deep breath.

"What? Come back here, Potter!" Greed said, finding his rage as he staggered to his feet, though slipped back down in his own blood, "I'm not through with you yet!"

"Yeah?" Harry threw back, "Well, I'm through with you. See ya, Thestor. I'm sure the others will deal with you, but I don't have the time."

And with that, Harry disappeared from view in a single blur while Greed growled and clutched his staff.

He would have his revenge!

* * *

><p>"Luna, who is that person?" Hermione asked as the man in the unusual black robes much like Harry's had been caught the now sleeping child from the tree.<p>

"Him?" Luna asked, "He's an old friend of my mother."

"I'm sorry, I didn't introduce myself." the boy said as he turned back to them with the child in his arms.

The boy looked no older than some of the Fifth Years around the school, with his short straight black hair that was parted down the middle with a stray bang in his face. He wore the standard Shinigami uniform, though with a vest over his that was halfway zipped up. His face was kind, an even somewhat feminine as he tilted his head to the side slightly and smiled at them.

"My name is Mizuiro Kojima. I am the newest Fourth Seat of the Tenth Division under Third Seat Rangiku Matsumoto." the young man, Mizuiro, said, bowing as per Japanese custom, Hermione noted.

"So you're a Fourth Seat now? Congratulations." Luna said as Mizuiro blushed.

"It's not that big of a deal." Mizuiro said, "I'll be sure to find some off time to come for the summer."

"That would be most welcome." Luna said, tapping her chin.

"What are you going to do with that little bastard?" Draco asked rudely as Hermione turned to scold him, but by being Malfoy, he didn't care.

"I'm going to have my superiors seal him back into Hell." Mizuiro said firmly, carrying the Hellion Lord like one would a tired baby, "In this form he's not much of a danger, however, if he were to be awaken and enraged…" Mizuiro trailed off as he paled considerably, having seen the destruction this particular Lord of Hell could cause.

"So he's very dangerous?" Hermione asked as Draco scoffed at her. How could she not tell by how shaky the guy had gotten just thinking about it?

"Yes, very." Mizuiro emphasized as he began walking, with Luna, Hermione, and Draco following at his heels, "We need to get him to the medical barrier Captain Unohana setup three kilometers from each of the battles within the forest."

"I'll go find Harry." Hermione said as Luna quickly jerked her back.

"Harry is heading this way." Luna said as Mizuiro's eyes widened.

"Is that what that enormous power was? This Harry Potter the superiors were all in a fit about?" Mizuiro asked as Luna didn't get a chance to answer.

What with Harry's appearing beside the group before any of them knew he was there…

* * *

><p>"Luna, I can't forgive you for what you did." Harry said as Luna shrugged, letting go of Hermione's robes.<p>

"Not a problem." Luna commented, "Though you will get over it at some point. It is a part of you, and holds a great deal of your power."

"I don't want to use my power to hurt others. Just enough to protect people!" Harry snapped back as Luna remained calm while they ran, "My Zanpakuto revels in oppression and subjugation! It lives and feeds off the darkness in my heart now that it's two parts are whole! Surely you must know this!"

"I do." Luna said calmly, "However, you have to get over the fact that your power hurts people where as you don't want to hurt them. If you don't, it'll swallow you whole."

"That's not the problem nor the point!" Harry defended, "The point is that my power is dark at the moment, and I can't control it that well. I realize and recognize that it's a part of me. A much darker and more violent part, yes, but still part of me. The problem is that when it's released, I'm not sure if I'll want to end it next time."

"So your fear is that someday you'll like the power, grow addicted to it, and turn into an oppressive king as your sword's name dictates?" Luna asked as Harry nodded, "Well, that's stupid."

"Wh-What?" Harry choked out as Draco scoffed harshly.

"You're too much of a goody-goody to turn to evil, Potter." Draco mocked, "To be evil, to commit evil, you have to _truly_ mean it. To truly _want_ it."

"He's right, Harry." Luna said as Harry turned back to her, "Your greatest power, as well as your fatal weakness, is that you love so much. Your compassion and willingness to understand those around you, even your enemies who seek your death, is astonishing and truly beautiful. Remember that you love, and that you love with all your heart. Remember that, and _Regis Mundi_ will _never_ seduce you to the darkness that lies within you."

"Th-Thank you, Luna… Draco…" Harry said as the two nodded.

Then, all of a sudden, Hermione gasped as Harry grabbed her around the waist, "H-Harry! What are you doing?"

"We have to go." Harry said, as he picked Hermione up over his shoulder effortlessly while still running with Luna and Draco, "Luna, can you handle things here with Draco?"

"Yes." Luna said, glancing back at him, "Though once my full power returns to me, I'll escort Draco back to the school."

"See to it that you do." Harry said, "Secret entrance by the Astronomy Tower, use it."

"Alright." Luna said, and with that Harry vanished in a single blur past them all.

"Incredible. To master the ancient art of Shunpo so well that even my eyes couldn't follow…" Mizuiro breathed as Luna smiled faintly.

"Harry's always been a speedy one." Luna admitted as Draco scoffed.

"He's still a goody-goody moron, though." Draco said as Luna smirked at him.

"You're only saying that because you didn't want to really break-up with him." Luna said, and at that, Draco face fell, becoming somber and solemn.

"It was for the best… he and I don't share the same ideals, and I don't think I could change myself anymore for him." Draco said as Luna scoffed at him.

"You didn't have to, he would have loved you all the same. But, you were right about one thing." Luna said, "It was for the best that you two either were no longer together or no longer hid your relationship. It would have gotten much to complicated."

"You like him?" Draco asked as Luna nodded.

"I do. I always will. Though I like being his friend just as well." Luna admitted, "The best relationships are those that can be on any level."

"Yeah… you're right…" Draco muttered, shaking his head, "No wonder we didn't last…"

* * *

><p>As quietly and quickly as they could, Harry and Hermione made there way toward the edge of the forest where Hagrid's Hut sat on the grounds. The shadows were already lengthening, the tops of the trees in the Forbidden Forest gilded once more with gold as the day drew to a close.<p>

"We're still a few minutes early, even with those battles." Harry said as they ran, "I'm sure Professor Snape will catch up with us later with an idea as to why Professor Lupin transformed even though he had his potion."

"I was wondering about that…" Hermione muttered, "I think someone must have tampered with it. Even the smallest of added substances could make the potion not work."

"That's what I thought." Harry said, his face severe, "Because like him or not, Snape doesn't make mistakes when it comes to his potions."

"What about that flare we had seen from within the forest by the mountains?" Hermione asked, "Or the cloaked figure that helped Pettigrew escape?"

"Those I don't know about." Harry admitted begrudgingly, "But with those guys attacking us, I think it's only a matter of time before they reveal themselves… especially with our having time traveled."

"I hope no one's looking out of the windows." Hermione squeaked suddenly, looking up at the castle as they made it to the edge of the Forest, seeing Hagrid's Hut.

Harry stepped forward, knowing that very few in the school would be able to see his Soul Reaper form, but then he was zapped and thrown back into a tree by something in his path.

"Ugh!" Harry gasped out in pain as he smashed against the tree, breaking it in half, "B-Barrier…"

"What does that mean?" Hermione asked as Harry got up.

"It means that we're stuck here unless we can break it." Harry said with a sigh as he ran his fingers through his hair before a thought occurred to him, "Umm… where's my body, anyway?"

"I think it's still up in the castle." Hermione admitted as Harry sighed.

"Listen, go around by the greenhouses and stay put. I'm going to go back and find Luna. She'll have my body with her, or at least know a way out of this barrier." Harry instructed as Hermione gave him a look.

"Harry, Luna Lovegood is not omniscient." Hermione said as Harry sighed.

"Maybe, but she's proved to be so thus far." Harry commented as Hermione shook her head, "You're not the only smart one, Hermione. And as far as I've seen from Luna, you're not even in her league."

Hermione gasped with wide eyes as she turned to yell at Harry for the insult to her knowledge, but he was already gone. She'd prove to him that she was smarter than Luna Lovegood. The girl was odd. She was mental! There was no way that Luna Lovegood could be her equal, much less her superior in terms of intellect!

* * *

><p>"Oh, Little Shiro! I'm so glad you're safe! Grandma and I were so worried about you!" a girl cried as she grabbed Toshiro and squeezed the life out of him as soon as he stepped into the large castle.<p>

"Momo!" Toshiro gasped as he looked to Shuhei, who shrugged in confusion.

This girl, who looked like a very young teenager, was Momo Hinamori. Her large brown eyes glistened with tears while her plum-black hair were tied back into messy ponytails. Toshiro could tell that she had been up crying a lot, simply because that was what Momo did when she worried.

"The Shinigami brought me here." Momo explained, "They wanted me to take the two of you back home while they work on their mission here."

"Yeah, but we can't go yet." Shuhei said as Momo actually glared at him, "What?"

"This is all your fault!" Momo accused, "Toshiro would have never come here and been away in danger if it weren't for you!"

"Momo!"

"No, it's true, Toshiro." Momo said as she engulfed him in another hug, "He's bad news. They all say it when I went out looking for you. They say he attracts danger."

"Even so, he's my friend." Toshiro said, fighting out of the hug.

"You're not to see him anymore, Toshiro. He's a delinquent." Momo said as Toshiro gaped at her.

"Now hold on-!" Toshiro shouted, but Shuhei put a hand on his shoulder and silenced him with a shake of his head and a small smile on his face.

"She's right… sorta…" Shuhei admitted, "I'm not exactly a delinquent, but I do get into a lot of trouble, huh? Maybe… Maybe we shouldn't hang out as much as we do."

"Shuhei…" Toshiro breathed as Shuhei gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"But we've got enough time for one last adventure, right?" Shuhei said as Toshiro nodded, seeing the evil gleam in his friend's eye, "Grab her!"

"Wha-? Mphm!" Momo said as they jumped her and began dragging her off toward the kitchens.

"First food, then we get out there and help Harry." Shuhei said as Toshiro gasped.

"Harry Potter! That's right!" Toshiro said, pointing as they quickly hid behind a wall, "Look."

And look they did as Shuhei's eyes widened, seeing Harry and his friends coming from the Great Hall and stopped in the antechamber to speak to one another.

"But, I know for a fact he was out in the forest." Shuhei whispered, "The guy's energy is so distinct that I could sense it a kilometer away."

"Yeah, but how is he here?" Toshiro asked before he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"That would be because of time-travel, my young friends." a pair of square-frame gleaming glasses and a handle-bar mustache said. Toshiro and Shuhei were going to scream, while still covering Momo's mouth, when the glasses and mustache shot out it's dark-skinned hands and covered their own mouths, pulling them into the shadows and far away from the antechamber to the Great Hall.

* * *

><p>"Thanks Luna, you're the best." Harry said as he flexed his arms and hands within his stiff human body.<p>

"Not really, but I'm glad you think so." Luna said airily as Harry smiled.

"What's that thing in the guy's arms?" Harry asked as Luna glanced back, seeing the small child in Mizuiro's arms.

"A Hellion Lord." Luna said as Harry nodded.

"Okay." Harry said as he turned to the side, seeing the tent in the middle of the forest with the centaurs guarding it, "What's that?"

"The Soul Reapers medical tent." Luna answered, "You may want to have your power restored to full-strength before you go back out."

"Right then." Harry said, taking Luna's advise as he marched up to the tent.

"Harry Potter." a centaur Harry vaguely recognized as Firenze said calmly, "Long has it been foretold that you would join the sacred fold before your time was done and that you would return to the mortal plane."

"Yes," another centaur said, nodding, "We just didn't believe that prophecy would be interpreted… umm… this way…"

"The sacred fold?" Harry asked.

"Basically, it means dying." Firenze said, "Though it could also be interpreted as dying and becoming a spirit agent of the next world. We all believed you would simply die and return, since Soul Reapers were little more than myth to us and the Wizarding World at whole before this day."

"I see…" Harry said, then excused himself as he stepped into the tent… which was an entire hospital wing!

"Potter!" a voice sneered, "Get over here!"

"Snape!" Harry whirled on a curtained off area, moving to it and throwing the curtains back to gaze upon the unusual sight of his brooding teacher bound to a bed with thick leather straps.

"Yes, now get these confounded binds off of me." Snape snarled, thrashing on his medical bed as Harry gazed down at the thick straps they used to hold the surly man.

"Okay, hold on." Harry said as he began to undo the binds on Snape's arms. Once one was free, Snape pointed the freed hand at his other bound digits and shot out white lightning, destroying the bind before he did the same to the ones on his feet.

"If we live pass today. I'll owe you one, Potter." Snape said, a flash of disgust passing over his face as Harry nodded before the potions teacher vanished.

"You should not have done that." a soft voice said behind Harry, causing him to freeze as a shadow loomed over him.

"Ca-Captain Unohana…" Harry said nervously as he knew the voice.

"Severus Snape had many critical injuries in which my subordinates had only just dressed and healed." Unohana said, "He'll be tender and weak if he goes to battle that woman Lust again."

"I'm sorry. I didn't know." Harry said as Unohana didn't bother with it.

"Come, I've just finished taking care of your Headmaster myself, so I'll handle your injuries now." Unohana said as Harry looked both surprised and confused.

"Professor Dumbledore? He's here? But why? H-How?" Harry stammered out before he turned toward the tent entrance, "I should go. If we can take these blokes out-"

"You'll stay and get your wounds treated, Harry Potter." Unohana said, but something in her tone made him shiver with fright he had only experienced a few times in his life, "Now please, follow me."

"Y-Yes ma'am." Harry said quickly, marching stiffly behind the graceful woman as she continued to smile her little smile.

Unohana always got her way…

* * *

><p>"Rose, look out!" Shinji yelled, rushing forward as fast as he could, "Behind you!"<p>

But his flamboyantly blond friend heard him a second too late. Rose turned to see the long metal claws coming down upon him, but had no time to dodge them. Quick as lightning, the claws slashed down through his chest, making his blood run free through the crisp summer air. Rose's eyes took on a dull luster as he fell from the air he had been standing on, his sword still clutched tightly within his grasp as he dropped into the forest below like a puppet cut from it's strings. Shinji only arrived just in time to dive down and catch his friend.

The impact must have restarted Rose as he gasped out, coughing up blood and blinking rapidly. Shinji raised his sword just in time to parry the claws which came bearing down upon them, the impact of stopping said attack making a crater beneath the man's feet as his legs held stronger than the ground beneath them.

"You two have been such good boys." Lust's voice purred as she stepped forward, "But the venom has already begun to run it's course."

Shinji gritted his teeth as he knew she spoke the truth. The two of them had been reacting rather slowly, with every blow she dealt hurting them worse and worse as the battle progressed. It wouldn't be long before she overtook them, Shinji's vision already blurring.

"Sh-Shinji…" Rose gasped as Shinji looked down at his friend, the flamboyant man gripping his haori tightly. Shinji was more than a little surprised the man was alive, even as Lust took advantage of his momentary distraction to press her attack. Shinji blocked and dodged as he carried Rose in the arm that didn't have a deathgrip on his sword handle. Miraculously, Rose was still conscious, wincing as he tried to help by blocking a few claw-swipes himself.

Then the two were pinned to a tree, Shinji's back up to the forest denizen while Lust loomed in front them with a smug look.

"This is the end, my sweets." Lust purred, "I'll be sure to give you a death with orgasmic pain."

Shinji glared as he raised his sword, waiting to go down fighting, but blinked when Lust stepped forward to strike them only for the alluring woman to jerk still.

"Why I've never!" Lust admonished.

Lust bowed her head to look down as Shinji and Rose did the same. They all allowed their gazes to fall as they all stared at the sword in Lust's midsection. Glancing over the woman's shoulder, they saw a flutter of billowing black robes which had been absent from their battle for the past ten minutes.

"Severus. You're back." Lust commented in surprise as Snape said nothing, merely ripping his sword free of the woman.

"This travesty ends now." Snape said, brandishing his sword, "I'll do what I should have all those years ago; kill you with my own blade."

Then Snape's sword took on a flare of red flames as Lust turned to him, quirking a brow.

"Your release?" Lust said, "That's new from the last time I've seen it. Has it truly changed so much?"

"It's not my Shikai." Snape said, "It's just a spell. You were always weak against elemental attacks."

"Don't let her touch you!" Shinji warned, dropping to his knee as Rose scrambled out of his grasp in order to help his friend lean back against the tree before doing so himself, "Her claws! They're-!"

"Poison, I know." Snape sneered as he and Lust clashed, blade versus claws.

The two being exchanged several quick attacks and blocks in succession, leaping apart after each brief bout to circle one another and begin again, like a teasing dance of predators.

"You're slower than before." Snape observed as Lust scoffed.

"Those two have kept me busy." Lust said, looking less than pleased as Snape blocked her claws and swung at her. Lust flipped away, then spun in midair as she dodged a narrow bolt of pale lightning.

Before her feet touched the ground, Severus Snape's billowing robes were already there in front of her as he swept her legs out, and used a palm strike to send her back. She spread her most terrible wings to the air and took to the skies, Snape leaping into the trees and then along the air as he met her, bursting from the forest like a bat from a dark cave.

Lust saw him mutter something under his breath, his empty hand pointed up at her as he continued to surge forward before her entire body seized up like she was frozen in a block of ice. Her eyes widened when his hand opened to show his empty palm… right before white lightning shot out of it to shoot through her left shoulder. Rigid pain burst through her entire arm like never before, but she regained control of her body, turning to backhand Snape with her wing when he came to close.

"You're mixing magics." Lust said, gasping for breath as she her right hand rose in a guarded position, "The energies are much too different for that. How?"

"That is none of your concern." Snape said, "And why would I tell you anyway? That would be very stupid of me. I'm no Gryffindor."

"Of course not." Lust said, and then smiled a smile which made Snape snarled as he went back on the offensive.

* * *

><p>"I'm back." Harry said, Hermione jumping in surprise from her hiding place as he so suddenly appeared behind her without a sound, "What's going on?"<p>

"Just keeping out of sight of Hagrid's front door." Hermione said, "Our past selves must be nearly at Hagrid's by now! We can't let them see us."

"What's the big deal if they see us?" Harry asked, "I mean you wouldn't tell on yourself, would you?"

"No, but could you image what your past self would do if he suddenly saw another him?" Hermione asked as Harry shuddered to even think.

Mostly because he would think the person a fake and take them to Mayuri…

"Besides, it's dangerous messing with time." Hermione added as she moved to the side for Harry to crouch down beside her. Now with both of them safe in the shadows of the trees, Harry turned to Hermione, who was looking at him for the answers. Harry rolled his eyes with a sigh.

"Right then," Harry said, a little annoyed he was made to do the thinking, "We need to sneak over to Hagrid's hut while keeping out of sight from here. Probably should have just done that before, but whatever…"

They made their way silently through the trees, keeping to the very edge of the forest even as they heard explosions and saw flashes behind them deeper in the forest. Then, as they glimpsed the front of Hagrid's house, they heard a knock upon his door. They moved quickly behind a wide oak trunk and peered out from either side. Hagrid had appeared in his doorway, shaking and white, looking around to see who had knocked.

And that was when Harry heard his own voice.

"It's us. We're wearing the Invisibility Cloak. Let us in and we can take it off." Harry heard past-Harry say as Hagrid glanced around to see if anyone was out watching.

"Yeh shouldn've come!" Hagrid whispered. He stood back, then shut the door quickly.

"This is the weirdest thing we've ever done…" Harry said fervently as Hermione giggled despite herself.

"It does feel strange, doesn't it?" Hermione said before shaking her head, "Let's move along a bit. We need to get nearer to Buckbeak!"

They crept through the trees until they saw the nervous Hippogriff, tethered to the fence around Hagrid's pumpkin patch. Harry took out his wand and aimed before glancing to Hermione.

"Now?" Harry whispered as Hermione feverishly shook her head.

"No!" Hermione whispered harshly, "If we steal him now, those people from the Committee will think that Hagrid set him free! We've got to wait until they've seen that he's tied up outside!"

"That's going to give us about sixty seconds." Harry said, still worried about the explosions and flashes that were off in the distance within the deeper parts of the forest.

At that moment, there was a crash of breaking china from inside Hagrid's cabin.

"That's Hagrid breaking the milk jug," Hermione whispered, "I'm going to find Scabbers in a moment —"

Sure enough, a few minutes later, they heard Hermione's shriek of surprise.

"Hermione, what if we…" Harry said suddenly, "What if we just run in there and grab Pettigrew before —"

"No, Harry!" Hermione said in a terrified whisper, "Don't you understand? We're already breaking one of the most important wizarding laws! Nobody's supposed to change time, Harry! Nobody! You heard Dumbledore, if we're seen —"

"But we're changing time already, dammit!" Harry whispered back with a biting tone, "I mean we weren't here the first time, right? We'd only be seen by ourselves and Hagrid!"

"Harry, what do you think you'd do if you saw yourself bursting into Hagrid's house?" Hermione asked as Harry went pale.

"I'd… I'd think I'd gone mad, or someone was trying to impersonate me." Harry admitted, "Then I'd probably hand them over to Mayuri as a present."

Hermione paled at that last part.

"E-Exactly! Don't you see? Professor McGonagall told me what awful things have happened when wizards have meddled with time… Loads of them ended up killing their past or future selves by mistake!"

"Okay! I get it!" Harry said, sulking, "It was just an idea, I just thought —"

But Hermione nudged him and pointed toward the castle. Harry moved his head a few inches to get a clear view of the distant front doors. Dumbledore, Fudge, the old Committee member, and Macnair the executioner were coming down the steps.

"We're about to come out!" Hermione breathed, waiting amount before she wiped her head toward Harry, "Why aren't we coming out?!"

"I think this'll help." Harry whispered, grasping his left forearm with his right hand as a red sphere of energy began to form.

"Harr-!"

BOOM!

Harry had launched a low-powered Kido into the pumpkin patch, a small explosion rocking the area as Harry pushed Hermione back some while seeing Hagrid come to the window to investigate. Hagrid looked over his grounds for where the explosion had come from, but then he stared transfixed on the approaching figures in the distance.

"Did you know?" Hermione asked as Harry shook his head.

"No, I panicked a bit." Harry explained, "I remember a boom, and then I panicked for something to happen, and then thought; "to hell with it!" and created a boom myself."

And sure enough, moments later, Hagrid's back door opened, and Harry saw himself, Ron, and Hermione walking out of it with Hagrid. It was, without a doubt, the strangest sensation of his life, but-

"_Huh_… _Now that I really think about it; I've seen stranger_." Harry thought to himself, truly recalling his time with the Japanese Soul Reapers and his time around Hogwarts.

Even still, he stood behind the tree and out of standing behind the tree, and watching himself in the pumpkin patch.

"It's okay, Beaky, it's okay…" Hagrid said to Buckbeak. Then he turned to Harry, Ron, and Hermione that were with him, "Go on. Get goin'."

"Hagrid, we can't —"

"We'll tell them what really happened —"

"They can't kill him —"

"Go!" Hagrid whispered hurriedly, "It's bad enough without you lot in trouble an' all!"

Harry watched the Hermione in the pumpkin patch throw the Invisibility Cloak over him and Ron.

"Go quick. Don' listen…"

There was a knock on Hagrid's front door. The execution party had arrived. Hagrid turned, around and headed back into his cabin, leaving the back door ajar. Harry watched the grass flatten in patches all around the cabin and heard three pairs of feet retreating. He, Ron, and Hermione had gone… but they (the Harry and Hermione hidden in the trees) could now hear what was happening inside the cabin through the back door.

"Where is the beast?" came the cold voice of Macnair.

"Out-Outside," Hagrid croaked as though holding back sorrow.

Harry pulled Hermione back, her head just out of sight, as Macnair's face appeared at Hagrid's window, staring out at Buckbeak. Then they heard Fudge.

"We — er — have to read you the official notice of execution, Hagrid. I'll make it quick. And then you and Macnair need to sign it. Macnair, You're supposed to listen too, that's procedure-"

Macnair's face vanished from the window. It was now or never.

"Wait here," Harry whispered to Hermione, "I'll do it. It'll be ten times quicker."

As Fudge's voice started again, Harry flashed-stepped from out behind their hiding place in the trees, moving over the fence into the pumpkin patch, and stopping in front of Buckbeak.

"It is the decision of the Committee for the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures that the Hippogriff Buckbeak, hereafter called the condemned, shall he executed on the sixth of June at sundown—"

Careful not to blink, Harry stared up into Buckbeak's fierce orange eyes once more and bowed as gracefully as he could. Buckbeak, in turn, quickly sank to his scaly knees and then stood up again, proud as ever. Harry began to fumble with the knot of rope tying Buckbeak to the fence, not wanting it to appear as though they had freed the proud Hippogriff.

"… sentenced to execution by beheading, to be carried out by the Committee's appointed executioner, Walden Macnair…"

"Come on, Buckbeak. Come on, we're going to help you. Quietly… quietly…" Harry murmured as he finally got the knot undone.

"… as witnessed below. Hagrid, you sign here…"

Harry lightly tugged at the rope, but was surprised to find resistance as he glanced back at Buckbeak, who had dug in his front feet.

"This is no time for pride, now move it!" Harry hissed, and with that, Harry tugged harder on the rope around Buckbeak's neck, putting some strength behind the action. The Hippogriff began to walk, rustling its wings irritably. They were still ten feet away from the forest, in plain view of Hagrid's back door.

"Well, let's get this over with," said the reedy voice of the Committee member from inside Hagrid's cabin, "Hagrid, perhaps it will be better if you stay inside —"

"No, I — I wan' ter be with him… I don' wan' him ter be alone —"

Footsteps echoed from within the cabin.

"Buckbeak, move faster!" Harry hissed, tugging again, but the Hippogriff still moved as though it were a show pony, strutting slowly across the pumpkin patch.

"One moment, please, Macnair," came Dumbledore's voice, "You need to sign too." The footsteps stopped. Harry heaved on the rope once again. Buckbeak snapped his beak this time, looking irritated as he conformed to Harry's wishes, walking only a little faster.

Hermione's pale and nervous profile stuck out from behind a tree, mouthing fumbled words.

"Harry, hurry!"

Harry could still hear Dumbledore's voice talking from within the cabin. He gave the rope another wrench. Buckbeak snipped his backside, but reluctantly broke into a grudging trot.

They had reached the trees…

"Quick! Quick!" Hermione moaned, darting out from behind her tree, seizing the rope too and adding her weight to make Buckbeak move faster. Harry looked over his shoulder; they were now blocked from sight; they couldn't see Hagrid's garden at all.

"Stop!" he whispered to Hermione, "They might hear us."

Hagrid's back door had opened with a bang. Harry, Hermione, and Buckbeak stood quite still; even the Hippogriff seemed to be listening intently. Silence… then —

"Where is it?" said the reedy voice of the Committee member, "Where is the beast?!"

"It was tied here!" the executioner said furiously, "I saw it! The damn thing was just here!"

"How extraordinary," said Dumbledore, and Harry could just imagine seeing the old man tilting his head, as though looking at a work of art. There was even a note of amusement in his voice.

"Beaky!" said Hagrid huskily.

There was a swishing noise, and the thud of an axe. The executioner seemed to have swung it into the fence in his anger. And then came the howling, and this time they could hear Hagrid's words through his sobs.

"So what we saw last time was… was this?" Hermione asked as she turned to Harry, who shrugged as he didn't know anymore about time anomalies than she did.

"Or Buckbeak could have really died." Harry said, and got a snipping from the proud creature in return, "OW! I'm only saying!"

"Gone! Gone! Bless his little beak, he's gone!" Hagrid wailed in joyous relief, "Musta pulled himself free! Beaky, yeh clever boy!"

Buckbeak started to strain against the rope, standing proud as he tried to get back to Hagrid. Harry tightened his grip, and with a single jerk, stopped the beast's movements. Hermione, however, seemed to be under the impression that she was actually doing some of the muscle-work as she dug her heels into the forest floor to stop Buckbeak as well.

"Someone untied him!" the executioner snarled, "We should search the grounds, the forest."

"Macnair, if Buckbeak has indeed been stolen, do you really think the thief will have led him away on foot?" Dumbledore said, still sounding lightly amused, "For all your want, search the skies, if you will… Hagrid, I could do with a cup of tea. Or a large brandy. I've been feeling my age lately and a bit of the good stuff will hit the spot quite nicely!"

"O' — o' course, Professor!" Hagrid said, sounding weak with happiness, "Come in, come in…"

"Thank you." Dumbledore said graciously, "Cornelius, shall you be joining us. I've just heard a fantastic tale about a realm well beyond our own. It contains sword-wielding wizard-angels who fight all manner of dark beasts to protect the Earth's living inhabitants from their wraith."

"I suppose I will, then…" Fudge said reluctantly, seeming deeply confounded by Buckbeak's sudden disappearance.

Harry and Hermione listened closely. They heard footsteps, the soft cursing of the executioner, the snap of the door, and then silence once more.

"Now what?" Harry whispered, looking around.

"We'll have to hide in here," Hermione said, looking only slightly shaken, "We need to wait until they've gone back to the castle. Then we wait until it's safe to fly Buckbeak up to Sirius's window. He won't be there for another couple of hours… Oh, this is going to be difficult…"

She looked nervously over her shoulder into the depths of the forest. The sun was truly setting now.

"We should move to a place where we can see everything happen, so we know what's going on," Harry said, "In fact, we're going to have to move. We'll have to see the Whomping Willow."

"Okay," Hermione said as Harry handed her more of Buckbeak's rope, taking a firmer grip on it, "But we've got to keep out of sight, Harry, remember…"

They moved around the edge of the forest, darkness falling thickly around them, until they were hidden behind a clump of trees through which they could make out the Willow.

"There's Ron!" Harry said suddenly, pointing to where a dark figure was sprinting across the lawn and its shout echoed through the still night air.

"Get away from him! Get away — Scabbers, come here!"

And then they saw two more figures materialize out of nowhere. Harry watched himself and Hermione chasing after Ron. Then he saw Ron dive.

"Gotcha! Get off, you stinking cat!"

"And there's Sirius." Harry observed, pointing further down to where the great shape of the dog had bounded out from the roots of the Willow. They saw him bowl Harry over, then seize on…

"Eww… Looks even worse from here, doesn't it?" Harry said with a slight wince, watching the dog pull Ron into the roots.

"Ouch! I know that hurt. Did that hurt for you?" Harry asked, turning to Hermione, staring down at the shoulder where the Willow had struck, "When you were walloped by that bloody tree, I mean? I know it was painfully when I got knocked in the chest by that heavy branch."

"Yeah, it did a bit…" Hermione muttered, running her fingers gently over her shoulder, which now sported a light scar, "This is so strange…"

"Yeah, but we've seen stranger, right?"

"Yes, very strange, indeed; isn't it?" a voice said from behind them.

Harry and Hermione whipped around, and there atop Buckbeak as though he had been there all along was Crookshanks, lounging like a fat cat while grinning at them.

"Now then, I must help your past-selves if you plan to ever get past the tree." Crookshanks said, and then lightly bounded off of Buckbeak while Harry and Hermione stared after him, "You humans are so useless without your loyal pets…"

"Keep me from doing anything stupid!" Harry yelled after the cat, who grinned for a moment before continuing toward the Whomping Willow and responding with: "I can do that! I do it often enough…"

"Did he just-?"

"I'm more concerned with the fact that he knows we're from the future." Hermione said as Harry deadpanned, "I was going to say that, but now I'm changing it to the fact that he's so damn smug about it."

The Whomping Willow was creaking and lashing out with its lower branches; they could see themselves darting here and there, trying to reach the trunk. And then the tree froze.

"That was Crookshanks pressing the knot," Hermione observed.

"He sure got down there fast…" Harry muttered, "And there we go, into the base… We're in."

The moment they disappeared, the tree began to move again. Seconds later, they heard footsteps quite close by. Dumbledore, Macnair, Fudge, and the old Committee member were making their way up to the castle.

"There they go; right after we'd gone down into the passage!" Hermione said, "If only Dumbledore had come with us…"

"Yeah, but then Macnair and Fudge would've come too." Harry said, scowling lightly, "I bet you anything Fudge would've told Macnair to murder Sirius on the spot…"

"You wanted to." Hermione argued.

"Not really…" Harry said, "It was more like I felt compelled to do it."

"Compelled? Compelled to kill or compelled to anger?" Hermione asked, her eyes narrowing as did Harry's.

"Both…"

They turned their attention back to watching the four men climb the castle steps and disappear from view.

"Do you think a wizard did it?" Hermione asked, "The compelling. There are spells for that."

"Maybe, but it could have just as easily been something else…" Harry muttered, trying not to think about what Thestor had said before. Or about the many spells and such that the Soul Reapers had for just about anything.

Anything, including the ability to hypnotize others into illusions and the like…

For a few minutes the scene was deserted. Then Harry pointed again, Hermione huffing at how good his eyesight was in the fading sunlight over the grounds.

"Here comes Lupin!" Harry said as they saw another figure sprinting down the stone steps and halting toward the Willow. Harry looked up at the sky. Clouds were obscuring the moon completely.

They watched as Lupin brought out his wand, and with a muttered incantation, the dangerous tree stopped fighting, and Lupin, too, disappeared into the gap in its roots.

"If he'd only grabbed my cloak," Harry said with a sigh, "It's just lying there…"

He turned to Hermione.

"If I just dashed out now and grabbed it, Snape'd never be able to get it and —"

"Harry, we mustn't be seen!"

"How can you stand this?" he asked Hermione fiercely, "Just standing here and watching it happen? All this damn sneaky about!" he hesitated for a second, "I'm going to grab my cloak!"

"Harry, no!"

Hermione seized the back of Harry's robes not a moment too soon. Just then, they heard a burst of song. It was Hagrid, making his way up to the castle, singing at the top of his voice, and weaving slightly as he walked. A large bottle was swinging from his hands.

"Ms. Granger is right, Harry. You should really stay out of sight."

The two whipped around to the sound of the voice, and standing there as proud as day was Professor Dumbledore, petting Buckbeak's beak and positively beaming at them.

"Sir, wh-what-?! How-?!" Hermione stammered out, completely shocked and surprised by Dumbledore's appearance. Even Harry was surprised that the old wizard was able to sneak up on them without his sensing him.

"I met up with your Professor Snape and engaged in a little tiff with one of the rogues who were after you and him." Dumbledore said, "I must say though, I was completely outmatched and outclassed once the man had gotten serious about things, but some of Harry's allies came to my aid and got me patched up in no time at all! I then did a little rule bending of my own; making my reappearance at dinner before meeting up with the Minister and his associates."

"And then you backtracked here and found us." Harry cut in while crossing his arms.

"With the help of a certain ginger cat." Dumbledore winked, "He's certainly intelligent and a bit cunning, Ms. Granger. I do believe that we should start sorting familiars as well, as your Crookshanks would make an excellent Slytherin."

"Captain Unohana did say she did your patch job." Harry quipped, "She works miracles. Just like Madam Pomfrey!"

"That they both do." Dumbledore said, smiling, "Now I believe we have work to do this night. Though keep in mind that we must do these tasks from the shadows, keeping out of sight and out of mind."

"Right." Harry said, prime for just about anything that wasn't skulking about.

"But what about them- us- whatever!" Hermione said as she gestured wildly at the willow.

"I do believe that, until later, they'll have things under control, yes?" Dumbledore said as Harry nodded.

"An hour." Harry said with his nodding, "They'll be in there an hour."

"Then I must say; time is, in fact, on our side." Dumbledore smiled as he spoke, "Please, follow me." and with that, the Headmaster turned on heel. He casually flicked out his wand, making Buckbeak follow him without question as Harry and Hermione traveled beside the wizened wizard.

"So what do we do first, sir?" Harry asked as Dumbledore glanced at him.

"We secure our friends and allies within the forest." Dumbledore said, "I can tell that they've taken to serious damage of the forest grounds by the mountain-side, some… three kilometers away from here. Oh look, Severus is joining your present party."

And it was true. Barely two minutes later into their walking, the castle doors flew open yet again, and Snape came charging out of them, running toward the Willow.

Harry's fists clenched as they stopped to watch Snape skid to a halt next to the tree, looking around. He grabbed the cloak and held it up.

"Now I'll definitely have to burn it…" Harry said under his breath, shaking his head, "It was such a good cloak too…"

Dumbledore only chuckled half-heartedly while Hermione sent Harry nervous looks, knowing that he might be serious.

Snape inspected the immobilized tree for a moment, then vanished from view as he put on the cloak.

"So that's it," Hermione said quietly, once again trotting along with Dumbledore, Harry, and Buckbeak, "We're all down there… and now we've just got to wait until we come back up again…"

"Yes, but in the meantime we have people to help." Dumbledore said as they made their way deeper into the forest. At a certain point, when the crashes and all manner of sound effects were clearly audible, Dumbledore stopped dead.

"I do believe that it would not be safe for our Hippogriff friend here to go any further than this." Dumbledore said as Harry gazed at Buckbeak.

The proud Hippogriff seemed frightened to take another step further anyway, and Harry wondered if the creature could sense the dark and sinful energy in the air as it grew heavier with their walking. Glancing at Hermione, he saw that she looked like she had gotten too much sunny or played too often in the snow. Her skin was fluster and her breaths were slightly erratic. However, she didn't look like she was going to drop anytime soon. Dumbledore appeared perfectly fine though, like he was taking a pleasant stroll through a lovely park.

Dumbledore lifted his wand, and with a casual circle of it like an orchestra conductor, had Buckbeak's rope tied securely around the nearest tree. Then with another casual circle, a shield of some kind rippled into existence around the tree and Buckbeak.

"You have a question, Ms. Granger?" Dumbledore asked, glancing back from his lazy work to Hermione, who was chewing her bottom lip.

"I was wondering… Why didn't the Dementors get Sirius? I remember them coming, and then I think I passed out… there were so many of them… But Harry… When I passed out, you were still going…"

Harry sighed, taking in a deep breath before he launched into his tale. He explained what he'd seen; how, as the nearest Dementor had lowered its mouth to Harry's, a large silver something had come galloping across the lake and forced the Dementors to retreat right into the paths of a flaming column of fire and a giant icy dragon of winter.

Hermione's mouth was slightly open by the time Harry had finished, and Dumbledore held a questioning gaze, as though thinking on whether a painting was crooked or not.

"I see. It must have been terrifying." Dumbledore said, closing his eyes solemnly before he opened them again, the twinkle in his eye quite dim, "I apologize, Harry. Hearing the tale of just how close you've come to death, or yet, a fate far worse; losing your soul… This is my fault. I have not prepared you for the hard life you've been made to live, and will continue to."

"I'm okay, Professor." Harry said stubbornly, refusing the elderly man's pity for him.

"Yes, but only because of the Soul Reapers and their training." Dumbledore said, "Well, I'll have to see about helping you more so in the future."

It was quiet for a moment, and then Hermione looked up at Harry.

"What were they?"

"Huh?" Harry said in confusion.

"The silvery-galloping thing, the ice dragon, the huge column of fire. What were they?" Hermione asked as Dumbledore seemed to deflect the question back to Harry when Harry turned to him for the answers.

"Well… I have my theories on the fire and the dragon, but there's only one thing the galloping silver-thing could have been to make the Dementors go away. It was a Patronus." Harry said as Dumbledore nodded, "A real Patronus, and a powerful one at that."

"But who could have conjured it?" Hermione asked, her voice low.

Harry didn't say anything, not even when Dumbledore sent a inquisitive glance his way. He was thinking back to the people he had seen on the other bank of the lake, and then the figure in white and black who had appeared before he fainted.

Who was that guy…? Was he a good or bad? Was he the one that alerted the others to where he, Hermione, and Sirius had been unconscious?

"Didn't you see what they looked like?" Hermione asked eagerly, "Was it one of the teachers? The one that cast the Patronus?"

"No." Harry said, sighing, "He wasn't a teacher."

"But it must have been a really powerful wizard, to drive all those Dementors away… If the Patronus was shining so brightly, didn't it light him up? Couldn't you see —?"

"Yeah, I saw him," Harry said slowly, still thinking, "But… maybe I imagined it… I wasn't thinking straight… I passed out right afterward…"

"Who did you think it was?"

"I thought…" Harry swallowed, knowing how strange this was going to sound, and how it simply couldn't be true, "I thought it was my dad… with a kid and an old man."

They would have continued their conversation, but then something with a toxic purple glow lit up one side of the forest and a figure came barreling through toward them, breaking down trees and uprooting earth as it tried hard not to back down from the purple glow.

"I do believe that is Professor Snape now." Dumbledore beamed as Harry blinked, seeing that the man's words were true; Snape was blocking the wave of flowing energy with a look of fury on his face the likes of which Harry had never seen.

"ARGH!" with a mighty shout, Snape had dispelled the wave into nothingness, driving it into the air where it ceased to exist, dissolving into the evening air like a spent firework.

Harry was about to speak, but then a woman slammed her herself forward at Snape, her clawed hand doing combat with the surly man's straight double-edged sword. If non-Basilisk looks could kill, then Harry was sure the two fighters would have dropped dead the moment they were within spitting distance of each other as their two weapons sparked while trying to win out against the other.

"Stay _out_ of this!" Snape snarled as he pushed against the most beautiful woman Harry had ever seen, aside from her demonic black wings and odd demon tail. And the claws… the claws too, were a bit of a turn-off for him…

"No, they can join you in death!" the woman hissed in the most sensual tone of voice Harry had ever heard. Harry was about to step forward and help, but Snape snarled at him.

"The witch is mine to finish!" Snape snapped, stabbing forward as the woman dodged, taking to the air as Snape gave chase.

"Do we go after them?" Hermione asked, looking worried for the greasy Potions Master.

"No, it's his fight." Harry said absently, putting away his skull badge, "He's a grown man. He can take care of himself."

* * *

><p>There was a low moan in the air as a figure came slumping toward them. It was a large burly man, as big as Hagrid.<p>

"Ah! Mr. Hagith! How pleasant it is to see you again!" Dumbledore greeted cheerfully as the burly man looked up.

"I'm bored, Dumbles…" the man boomed as he sat down across from them, shaking the ground as he did so, "Lust doesn't like it when I fight along with her…"

"Oh, well then, you may join out party, if you'd like." Dumbledore said as Hermione squeaked nervously. That was when the man's dumb gaze fell upon her, and his gaze turned hungry as he rubbed his stomach.

"I'm so hungry, Dumbles! Lust hasn't fed me in over three whole hours." the man whined, licking his drooling lips, "Can I have her? She looks like brain food. Quite filling."

"I'm afraid not, my good man." Dumbledore said as politely as he could while holding his wand loftily, "Miss Granger is not on the menu."

"What about him?" the man asked, his gaze shifting to Harry as he sniffed the air, his drooling becoming steadily worst as his mouth hung open, "He smells delicious and ripe for the picking. He smells like Shinigami… Mhmm… tasty…"

"Sorry, big guy, but I'm not a meal." Harry said, getting out his badge and exchanging glances with Dumbledore. He felt like he and the Headmaster could understand each other perfectly as they nodded at each other in unison.

"But you look so tasty!" the man thundered as he stormed forth to get at Harry, who in turn shoved the badge into his chest while Dumbledore pulled his now limp body back at the same moment Harry clashed his sheathed sword against the enormous man's meaty hands, "So you _are_ a Shinigami! That's why you smell so good!"

"Yeah, but the only thing you'll be tasting is my fist if you don't _back off_!" Harry said, allowing free a bit of his rapier from it's scabbard. He didn't want to hurt the giant of a man. He didn't seem like the type to want to hurt people. He might have only been hungry, but if he actually went around eating people…

"I do not believe he is of human origin, Harry." Dumbledore said as he stood ready to protect Hermione, Buckbeak, and himself from any further danger, "Madam Lust, the one fighting Professor Snape, referred to this gentleman as Gluttony."

"Oh my!" Hermione gasped, "He's one of the people Luna Lovegood told us about! The people from Hell! The Sins of Humanity!"

"The Sins of Humanity?" Dumbledore echoed, an unusual look on his face. A look of confusion, "I don't understand."

"She means the Seven Deadly Sins." Harry gritted out as the man before him, Gluttony, tried to lick at his face while he held the man at bay, "Before Hogwarts, I went to church every Sunday with my relatives like everyone else on Privet Drive. The Sins of Humanity are seven collective sins which form and rule over the seven layers of Hell under the leadership of Satan. In some places of the Bible, it's the seven deepest layers; for some others they represent where people who indulged in certain sins were sent."

"Tasty, tasty! Yum, yum!" Gluttony said in a crazed tone as Harry watched the man's drool begin to pool on the ground, some of it landing on his shoes.

"The seven are as follows from the outermost ring to the innermost: Lust, Gluttony, Greed, Sloth, Wrath, Envy, and Pride." Harry said as Dumbledore.

"And if I'm correct in my observations; then the outermost sins are the weakest and the innermost are the strongest. The one I fought was named Wrath, and was third in strength by that logic."

"So the one we found in the tree sleeping like a little kid was Sloth, and was the average of all the sins." Hermione said as Harry clashed against Gluttony, his sword still sheathed as he kept the sin back. It was much easier in terms of fighting Greed, who had actually been trying to proactively kill him. This man, however, was much weaker, as though he were only playing with Harry instead of actively fighting him.

"Coming on!" Gluttony said with child-like savagery, "Just one _little_ bite!"

"If you wanna bite of something, then eat this!" a voice Harry was glad to hear shouted out as Harry disappeared from his spot only to be replaced with a barrage of cherry blossoms that engulfed Gluttony.

Appearing a few feet in front of Dumbledore and Hermione, Harry smiled as Byakuya and Soi Fon appeared on either side of him, both looking ready for just about anything.

"We alerted the Head-Captain and he sent the advance party of five Captains." Soi Fon said, her normally pleasant face marred by a scowl, "We were only just dismissed from the Head-Captain's presence a few minutes ago. He wanted a character account on you from the two of us, as well as a report on what's been going on here in the Wizarding World."

"In other words," Byakuya said, grinning widely, "Have no fear; the cavalry is here!"

Harry was about to join in on the banter, because he was much less worried with his two Soul Reaping friends at his sides, but then the man Gluttony unleashed a blood curtailing scream of pain and rage that rocked the trees and shock the very earth beneath their feet as he clawed his way through the storm of cherry blossoms with a bloody mouth and cuts all over his body. His body was steaming hot as well as he glared at Byakuya, who was calling back his Zanpakuto to its actual sword form.

"You hurt _**my mouth**_!" Gluttony thundered as leaves fell from the volume of his voice, "You cut up my mouth, _**you little punk**_!"

Harry could only stare as the scene before him was not what he would have expected. Gluttony seemed to slim down further and further as steam wafted from his body. His speech became more like that of the burly man he portrayed, however, it also sounded far more like an un-caged and primal animal. Gluttony raised his arm, the fat from it turning to firm muscle right before Harry's eyes as Gluttony trained his murderous rage on Byakuya, who stopped grinning as he readied himself for what looked to be a vicious battle.

"Aaaarrr**rrgg**_**GGGGHHHHH**_!" Gluttony roared, his appearance changing even more so as he seemed to lose all manner of cognitive speech. Just like an animal, Harry thought as the grip he had on his sword tightened while he drew it from it's scabbard. Soi Fon reached behind her and held her own Zanpakuto in a reverse-grip while Byakuya tested his with a single swipe through the air.

They all stood and watched as Gluttony's body caught aflame, consuming him in its heat as they gazed on. Just when Harry had begun to believe the man had accidentally killed himself with his own Spiritual Energy, a single foot stepped out from the flames as casually as one would stop a door from closing on their face.

The foot was clad in a dark black, knee-length leather boot. A scaly dark tail whipped out from the flames as a low ominous growl permeated the air. Shining silver claws slashed through the flames as the demonic beast before them came into full sight. He wore black leather clothes over his evil form. His glowing red eyes were forever locked onto Byakuya Kuchiki as he flexed his gleaming claws. His third eye widened and contracted in rage as his fangs dripped with steaming hot drool.

"_**RRRRRAAAAAAHHHHH**_!" the beast that was Gluttony's true form roared for all the heavens to hear, his rippling muscles primed for battle.

Soi Fon wasted no time in starting the fight, flashing behind the demon with her right foot reared back for a powerful kick. The demon's eyes shot out to where she was barely visible at his side, his tail whipping backward and smashing her against the nearest tree where she lay groaning.

Byakuya gave no taunt or shouted comment that was usual for the hot-headed boy. He merely flashed away as well, his left side to Gluttony's back with his eye narrowed in anger as his sword shot out from under his arm to pierce the demon's heart from behind. This proved difficult as Gluttony spun on heel and glared down at the shorter male, his fist already in motion to shatter Byakuya's jaw as Harry surged forward and blocked the powerful blow with the flat of his sword. The earth beneath them uprooted at it took most of the shock which went through Harry's own body while Byakuya jumped back, raising his sword in an old-fashioned on guard position before turning it to where the now rising moon lit his blade beautifully. His face was a deadly calm as he gazed impassively to the battle before him while Soi Fon regained her senses.

"_**Scatter**_, **Senbonzakura**…" Byakuya incanted slowly, his sword glowing a faint pink before it dissolved into many wondrous flower petals.

With a swing of his sword, he rushed the literal cloud of petals at Gluttony, whose only defense against them was to growl menacingly as Harry jumped away. Soi Fon appeared next to him as Harry jumped back to join them. The ninja-girl's grip on her sword tightened as her rolled her other shoulder, forcing the bones back into place with a sickening crack.

"That won't be enough to stop him." Soi Fon breathed, "It'll probably only serve in making him angrier."

"You're right." Byakuya said, his tone just as calm as his gaze as he watched the swarming of his petals, "However, we need a plan of defeating him, hence my distraction."

"Well I've got the plan right here." Soi Fon said, holding her sword up. Harry didn't argue, remembering how she had dealt with the Hollows effectively.

Gluttony must have grown bored with playing with Byakuya's flower petals of doom as he ripped through the cloud of pink with a single swipe of his hand. As soon as Harry saw the demonic man's face, he flexed his sword, causing dark green energy to waft from it. He raised his sword high, and with it he gave a battle cry while he brought it down, the energy arcing outward and racing toward Gluttony like a tsunami wave.

The strange and horrifying part was that Gluttony seemed to enjoy the sight far more than anything else as he grinned. Then he opened his mouth when the wave was nearly upon him. Harry and the others watched in shock as Gluttony seemed to engulf the wave of energy into his mouth as though he were drinking a tasty beverage. When all the energy was sucked into his vacuum of an orifice, he grinned wider before belching so in a way to shake all of creation as Harry and the others fought to stay on their feet.

Gluttony clutched his stomach a second later, doubling over as though he were going to vomit. He opened his mouth wide, and Harry felt something collide with him as he was knocked aside to the ground with Byakuya below him and Soi Fon atop him. He was sandwiched between his two friends as out of the corner of his eye he saw a bright light flare over them with a loud explosion following soon after.

"What happened?" Harry asked as Soi Fon quickly hopped to her feet with him and Byakuya doing the same.

"He ate your energy wave… and threw it up back at us." Soi Fon said, her eyes narrowed as Gluttony didn't seem fazed by her cold glare.

"We have to stop this madness." Byakuya said, recalling his swarm of cheery blossoms to mingle around him while Harry glanced over to the side, seeing Dumbledore, Hermione, and Buckbeak behind a protective barrier he was sure the Headmaster had erected.

"Yeah, before one of us gets hurt." Harry said, his gaze dropping down to his sword. Would it be worry it if he used his own power willingly?

"_**Sting all Enemies to Death**_…" Soi Fon said, her sword glowing white as it was grasped in her right hand. Harry watched as it steadily began to shrink and reform until it was little more than a black and gold gauntlet on her arm with a stringer-like blade on her middle finger. The colors and patterns of it reminded Harry of a nasty hornet he had once encountered at Number Four Privet Drive, but he was sure Soi Fon would be a much worse opponent and could not be killed with a rolled-up newspaper.

"**Suzumebachi**!" Soi Fon whispered, holding her right arm up proudly as she continued to glare at their present enemy.

"I'll end it in two decisive blows." Soi Fon declared as she once again disappeared from their sight, appearing above Gluttony as she charged him with her stringer.

Gluttony tried to bat her away like an annoying insect, but only managed to stab the back of his fist on her stringer before she backed-off. The stranger part was when the strung area began to glow a ruddy red before forming a tattoo-like marking in the shape of a weird butterfly. Gluttony studied the marking for a moment, but then glowered down at it as he tried to mindlessly remove it with no success. He then turned on Soi Fon as she was the one who did it and shot at her like a bullet straight from Hell. Harry could barely dodge to the side to not be taken with the young Asian woman as Gluttony grabbed her and slung her through another tree. Harry rushed forward, intent on ending things, but did not get the chance as Gluttony's tail backhanded him to the ground. Even Byakuya fell short as Gluttony raised his fist and slammed it against the side of the young noble's head, knocking the boy for a loop as he went flying back until his body collided with a nearby tree.

Cracking his back into realignment as he got up, Harry had just enough time to raise his sword once again to block the clawed fury that Gluttony displayed while baring his fangs at the last of the Potter line. Harry could see now that this was the power of the sins. In their rage, they unlocked their true levels of power. This level of strength was nearly as bad as when Thestor had fought him in the beginning, and Harry knew that the two had been only barely even terms of power then; with Thestor stealing the battle with his obvious combat experience.

"I guess I have no choice…" Harry muttered, his sword glowing in his grip, "Forgive me, for I am about to sin… _**Carry the Burden**_…"

Gluttony didn't seem to care about morals at the moment as he finally recalled having another hand to do battle with. He raised the other clawed hand high in the air, and then shot it down at Harry, who caught it with his own unoccupied hand.

"**Regis Mundi**…" Harry whispered sorrowfully, closing his eyes to the world around him as he felt the power of his Zanpakuto fill him. It was a wondrous feeling, truly it was…

"_So… you have returned to this place…" a voice, stern and commanding asked more than it stated as Harry opened his eyes. He was seated atop a throne within Hogwart's Great Hall while the hall itself remained empty aside from him and the speaker._

"_Yes, I have." Harry said, not bothering to move from the throne which was placed normally where Dumbledore sat up high in the dining area of the school._

"_Why?" the person before Harry asked as he gazed up impassively to the throned Potter._

"_Because we need to work together." Harry said, rising from his throne to stand before his Zanpakuto spirit, "You're a part of me, and I need your help."_

"_And now you wish to call upon my power?" the impassive figure asked with an arched brow, "Why? Do you not still believe that my power only breathes destruction?"_

"_Yes…" Harry answered with his head hung in shame, "It only breathes destruction… the destruction of free-will. It only begets subjugation and enslavement. That is the only power of a world's king."_

"_And you still fear that it is too much power for you to bear?" the figure asked, his tattered black cloak billowing around him with no breeze._

"_I fear that I can't be trusted with that kind of power…" Harry answered, shaking his head, "Not with the life I've lived…"_

"_Fool! That is why I am here!" the figure said, his little crown catching the room's light and gleaming magnificently, "It is because you do not wish my power that I was created. For only he who would reject the throne of the world may seat themselves upon it."_

"_What does that even mean?" Harry asked, "If that's true, then by that logic, a lot of people would have my power."_

_His Zanpakuto did not readily response. The crowned figure, instead, stared at him with a deadpan expression for several long moments before speaking again, as though he were trying to comprehend something well beyond his understanding._

"_You truly believe the best within humanity, don't you?" the cloaked teen asked, his head tilted curiously to the side before he scowled, "Either that, or you truly are an imbecile."_

"_Thanks a lot." Harry shot back, crossing his arms._

"_People may say they don't want the power of a king, and they may even believe it themselves. However, in the heart of men; they all crave the power to control others. The power to make those around them bow before them. The power to rule over all that made them suffer any sort of indignity." the crowned Zanpakuto said impassively as Harry listened to his every word, "You, however, are different. You don't want the power to make others hang from your every word. You don't want to have those around you to submit to your every whim. You care not for fame or excessive fortune."_

_Regis Mundi got in Harry's personal space as he gazed eye-to-eye with his wielder, "In fact, your greatest wish is the same one as when I was first created within the deepest pits of your soul that fateful night in which you lost your parents." Regis Mundi said, eyeing Harry like a puzzle to be solved, "It did not change that night. It did not change throughout your suffering under your pitiful relatives. It did not change when you discovered magic. And it did not change throughout the time you've attended Hogwarts. Your greatest wish; your deepest desire has always been the same ever since I became my own individual being. Despite all your hardship; despite all the neglect; despite all of it, your ability to love is the greatest that is in existence and perhaps will never be surpassed. And even though you desire the power to protect your friends, it is only to protect and never to intentionally cause unprovoked harm to others."_

"_Do you really have to say all of this?" Harry asked, feeling a little embarrassed and uncomfortable with the character praise and the closeness of their bodies, "I get it. I'm supposed to be this great person, but really; no matter how many times you say it, I will never see it. I'm not great, I'm actually barely average, and-"_

"_No." Regis Mundi said, "You wish you were average. You wish you lived a normal life with close friends and loving family, but you don't. Having loving family and loyal friends is your greatest wish. You wish to protect that which you have now, but still you do not wish to cause harm to others. It is only when pushed to protect those around you that you draw your sword. That, in whole, is the reason you are here."_

"_If you know that, then why are we still talking about it?" Harry snapped, backing away from the being that he shared a soul with._

"_Because I'm trying to make you understand that the true power of a king is just that; to protect his loyal and loving subjects!" Regis Mundi said, once again stepping into Harry's personal space and being a hair's breath away from him, "A true king loves his subjects like friends and family! He places them before himself! He only acts in defense, never causing war with those around him unless it is to prove his kingdom! You are a king! The world's greatest king, Harry Potter! It is your destiny!"_

"_It is not!" Harry shouted back, his fists clenched at his sides, "I don't want to be a bloody king!"_

"_It is who you will be." Regis Mundi said without a trace of emotion, "You cannot escape it."_

"_You wanna bet?" Harry asked darkly as Regis Mundi held his fierce gaze._

_It became increasingly obvious to both parties that they had reached an impasse._

"_My power is yours to command. The power to rule as the world's one true king is yours, and yours alone. You decide whether my power breaths destruction or not. That is the power of a king; the power to choose how his rule is defined."_

"_So we're good?" Harry asked, glad that his Zanpakuto would not fight against him._

"_Yes, we are in agreement." Regis Mundi said as Harry slowly lowered the hand he offered the crowned figure._

_Harry slowly turned away from Regis Mundi, not wanting to admit that he was actually thinking about what the being had said. Even though he tried not to show it, he was always worried about his Zanpakuto's power. Ever since their first meeting, he could not help but think about that sadistic person Regis Mundi had turned into for what seemed like years. The being that tortured him endlessly only to revel in his suffering because he could cause it._

_And Harry feared worst of all that somewhere deep inside his soul, inside his very essence, there was a small part of him that was like that sadistic tormentor._

_A part of him that was like Voldemort…_

"_If I use this power…" Harry began, swallowing back the lump in his throat, "Then can you promise me that you'll do everything and anything you can to stop me if I were to… were to… were to-"_

"_I promise." Regis Mundi swore, "You have nothing to fear. You are the king, and I am merely an extension of your power. You are the king, and I am your tool. You are the king, and I am your righteous blade."_

"_Th-Thank you." Harry said quietly, his fears ebbing away for the moment. He looked back over his shoulder to Regis Mundi, who stared at him blankly. He didn't know what else to say, and he did the only thing he could think of to fully express just how much it meant to him to have someone so close to him- someone who knew and understood his very soul (someone who inhabited and shared his very soul)- tell him that everything would be alright in the end._

_Harry flung himself at Regis Mundi, fully intent on giving the impassively crowned male the hug of his life. Regis Mundi, however, had other plans as he seemed to anticipate Harry's motives and acted accordingly. He stepped to the side, allowing Harry to fall flat on his face while he merely raised a brow at his wielder's strange obsession with physical contact between himself and those he cared for._

_Watching as Harry disappeared from the dimly lit hall, Mundi allowed his ever impassionate gaze to stare up at the bewitched ceiling that showed the stars and the moon high above. He wondered if Harry knew that whenever the bespectacled boy was saddened or disheartened, that the stars and the moon disappeared and that rain overtook his inner world. However, Regis Mundi scoffed as he lowered his head. Of course Harry knew nothing of this._

"_But you shall learn of it someday…" Regis Mundi said impassively, though there was a trace of sorrow to his tone, "And when you do, I ponder if you will stop the cold and damp darkness from reaching this place for good…"_

Harry gasped as he came back to reality with his face hurting like never before. Having slammed his face against stone flooring, he supposed the pain was to be expected, but the last thing he expected to see when he came back to reality was Gluttony's scaly fist as he was sent flying backwards.

Stopping his backward movement, Harry glanced around to quickly assess the situation. Gluttony had more of those strange tattoo markings on his body, at least three on his midsection and one on his right cheek. He also seemed to have been burned badly as half his black leather attire was scorched off and he had blistering burn marks across his scaly skin, the scales of which were falling off to reveal oozing pus-filled marks. Though Gluttony didn't seem to notice as his only focus seemed to be on mashing them up really well to later devour them like well tenderized meat.

Byakuya seemed to be at his limit, breathing heavily as he leaned back against a tree. His right robe sleeve was torn to shreds and his arm was bleeding profusely as he had his cherry blossoms whirling around him protectively.

Soi Fon, who looked to only have a bruise on her left cheek, seemed to be the least injured of them all after Harry took a quick glance down at himself. Though at the moment her left arm was bent at an odd and painful looking angle, the ninja assassin quickly rectified that problem by forcing the bones and joints into their right set with a gasp of pain and a sickening crack of bones. She was kneeling in the dirt, her eye calculating as she never took her gaze off Gluttony.

Harry himself seemed to have a few cracked ribs if the pain with his every breath was right. He also had claw marks across his chest and a bite mark on his right shoulder while he was sure his left arm was sore from a taking a punch. Though still, Hermione, Dumbledore, and Buckbeak were still safe behind their shield and his sword was still gripped tightly within his grasp.

Sounded like a winning situation to Harry…

"I made a promise…" Byakuya said to himself as he steadied his breathing and stood on his legs, moving away from the tree near him, "I promised myself that I would grow stronger. I promised that I would protect my pride," Byakuya raised his sword, holding it parallel to his face as the cloud of blossoms reformed the blade. His robes began to billow as his spiritual energy came to it's max. "AND I WILL!" His body gave off a soft white glow as Soi Fon nodded her head.

"I, too, made a promise…" Soi Fon said, getting off her knee and standing up completely, "I promised myself that I would live where my brothers died. I'm not going to break that promise!"

Harry raised his sword, marveling at the change it took on from when it had been a normal rapier before. Now it looked like a sword befitting a king. The blade of the sword was now a deep green color with strange symbols along it's flat sides. The blade The guard had turned into something resembling an three prong crown while golden in color. The blade itself had transcended its original rapier design to become a wider straight blade with a finer outline, as though newly crafted and polished. Harry gave the new blade an experimental slash with a flick of his wrist, and was surprised to find the line of trees next to him decimated by the simple action.

"Then it we're in agreement." Harry said, smirking as he stood to full height, but was taken by surprised when he saw something billow out from behind him. Glancing down at his appearance, Harry found that he was dressed in a ragged dull red cape that hung loftily from his shoulders by two sterling silver shoulder-guards. Around his waist was a thick leather belt and his hands were wrapped within two fingerless black gloves.

"Actually, not quite." a voice drawled from behind him as Harry turned to see Mayuri making his way toward them with a strange gothic woman practically clinging to his side while a manic grin plastered her face together. "I'd rather like a specimen, and this one seems to be the most noteworthy in his transformation. Therefore, I'll take this battle off your hands."

"But, I just got this new form, and-" Harry tried not to whine childishly, he really did, but Mayuri interrupted him before he could.

"I don't care. It's irrelevant as of now." Mayuri said as he reached at his crotch, and grasped the hilt of his sword while tilting his head to the side. "Besides, you need to leave. Some others are going to be arriving to this battlefield soon, and I think the world would end if you and _she_ saw each other now."

"Umm…" Harry glanced away from Mayuri's piercing gaze to see Soi Fon and Byakuya holding their own against Gluttony. "Thanks, Mayuri. There are more important things I need to handle anyway."

"Fool, don't think I'm doing this for _you_." Mayuri said, sneering at him lightly while his blue hair swayed gently in the breeze of the dawning night, "I do this for _science_! And also so that I can finally show that accursed Urahara that I am his scientific superior."

"Whatever helps you sleep at night," Harry concluded as he turned from Mayuri and made his way over to Hermione and Dumbledore.

"I will kill that boy someday… I swear it…" Mayuri muttered to himself as he glanced at the woman who stood to his side, "Go and have your fun with the beast, but he is mine to finish, and mine to study. And don't lose too many pieces of him, either! Every little bit is a scientific goldmine!"

"A' okay, Mr. K!" the woman exclaimed before she lunged at Gluttony, a kitchen knife in her hands as she laughed manically.

* * *

><p>"We're getting out of here." Harry said as he deactivated his released form and merging once again with body.<p>

"What about your…" Hermione trailed off as the woman in the gothic dress howled at the clouded moon, "… friends…?"

"They'll be fine." Harry assured as Soi Fon went flying backwards in the background, colliding with a tree before she rocketed off it with a battle cry, snapping the tree in half as she kicked off.

"If you do believe so, Harry." Dumbledore said with a nod as he turned on heel and led the way back toward the Shrieking Shack.

"Harry… about earlier-" Hermione tried, but Harry shook his head.

"I know. You don't have to say it." Harry said quickly, but Hermione apparently needed to.

"It's just… your father is dead." Hermione said as Harry sighed, hanging his head. "Maybe… Maybe you think you saw his ghost?"

"I don't know…" Harry started, scratching the back of his head as he lifted his gaze, " But now isn't time to worry about all that. Right now we have to be sure time isn't messed with, and that we keep these sin people well away from our other selves."

"Well said, Harry." Dumbledore praised, "And with that, we must take note of all those we've come across."

Harry gained a thoughtful look, "I fought Greed, and you said you fought Wraith."

"Severus is back there fighting with the incarnation of Lust." Dumbledore broached, "And your other-worldly, the Shinigami as they term themselves, are fighting with the personification of Gluttony."

"That means that the only sins we've yet to fight are…" Harry began counting on his fingers, "Pride, the most powerful of them all. Envy, the second most powerful. And lastly, Sloth, the median sin."

"Wait a moment," Hermione said, "If Lust is the least powerful of the sins… then why is Professor nape having such trouble with her?"

"Professor Snape seems to have a past with her," Dumbledore explained. "And I have found that it is rather hard for Severus… to let go of his past, whether it be the good… or the bad…"

The leaves overhead rustled faintly in the breeze as the clash of metal rang out. The moon drifted in and out of sight behind the shifting clouds. Hermione looked up in time to see Snape stalemating the voluptuous woman which represented humanity's Lust.

"I hope Professor Snape learns to let go…" she mumbled under breath as she saw the man's sallow face contort in determination to break the woman he did battle against.

* * *

><p>"Come now, Severus," Lust purred, "You had better stop holding back… or perhaps, this is the extent of your power after so long a time of disuse. I distinctly remember you being a lot more… <em>virile<em> than this in your youth."

Snape said nothing as he looked down at the three dunderheads whom had still not left him be. Granger and Dumbledore were watching with unveiled curiosity while Potter looked unconcerned for the battle.

Suddenly, the death-grip Snape had on his sword's hilt tightened even more so as his blade lit aflame with violet energy. "I don't want to waste any more time here tonight." Snape said as he sneered deeply at the woman before him. "You've grown stronger since the last time we've seen one another, but… I've grown as well."

"Oh, what do you mean you've…" at this, Lust took a look down at where Snape's nether regions hid behind his may layers of clothing, "grown?" she practically moaned the word as Snape's furious face held a tinge of dispassion.

"I'll show you our difference in power." Snape said, regaining his emotional apathy as he further raised his energy output. Lust moaned in ecstasy at Snape's increase as she matched his with her own.

The smothering air intensified as Snape increased his spiritual pressure.

"I see now…" Lust whined, "He never expected us to survive these encounters."

Snape disappeared from everyone's eyes with his quick steps of speed in the air. Lust's eyes widened as she swiped her claws out, parrying the dour man's attack as her arm felt strained from the power behind it. The force was astounding! She used her own sped to try and get some distance between them, but kept pressing the advantage as he easily kept pace alongside her at an almost lazy stride of billowing dark robes.

Snape slashed upward at her, forcing Lust to block as she was sent flying through the air. Lust flipped around backwards, spreading her wings to the skies around her as she stopped her momentum and regained her composure. Right when she was about to send her poisonous claws at Snape, the man appeared above her with his right leg raised high above his head in an impressive display of flexibility before he dropped it onto her cranium with the force of a mountain.

A large explosion rocked the grounds and uprooted trees and earth as Snape sent Lust plowing into the forest below them. Snape dropped down to the forest grounds in a loftily open stance while the dust cleared, revealing Lust, who was bleeding heavily from her headdress.

"You're much better at physical combat than you were in your youth, Severus." Lust panted as her body trembled. "And your Spirit Weapon is much stronger than it used to be as well."

"Do not affiliate me with those pitiful stunts of slime." Snape hissed as Lust smiled coyly at him.

"But they are your ancestry." Lust argued. "As a child, you had been so proud of them, even initially hating the Shinigami for being their enemy."

"As I have said," Snape simmered, "I have grown much since our last encounter. Allow me to show you."

"Then show me, Severus!" Lust yelled as she lunged at him quickly. He blocked her attack and was on the defensive as she attacked him again and again mercilessly with her claws. One particularly hard blow launched him backwards and he was propelled through trees back to where Potter, Dumbledore, and Granger were lollygagging about in their sluggish pace with that blasted Hippogriff.

Harry saw Snape flying towards them, his eyes widening quickly as he grabbed Hermione and flashed away whilst Dumbledore magically apparated himself and Buckbeak to Harry's position. Snape hit the ground where they were, still skidding back some as Lust came flying over with her majestic purple robes swaying suggestively in the breeze of her movements.

"Come on Severus. I thought you were going to show me how much you had grown." Lust mocked as Snape shot to his feet, the dirt and muck on his robes blown away by his sudden increase in power.

"Stand back, Potter." Snape snarled as Harry pushed Hermione behind him to protect her with his own body and spiritual pressure. "Prepare to witness something you won't see again for at least a hundred years."

"Ohh…" Lust breathed in excitement as Snape energy turned violet in color before changing to a deep purple.

"**Cut Apart**, _**Dubitare**_…" Snape muttered as his power flared out, his robes swirling around him as he produced a sort of anti-light.

"_Snape's released his Zanpakuto_…!?" Harry thought as his eyes widened behind his glasses.

When the glow died away, Snape's sword had changed. It was still the same length as normal but it was curved inwardly at the point like that of a farmer's field scythe. Near the guard, the sword had widened slightly and Harry saw that the hilt looked much like a very thick and sturdy version of Snape's own wand.

"Time to end this farce of a battle!" Snape said, swiping his sword through the air as a trail of dark light followed the blade's motion.

**The battle in its last stage! The Final Stand for Lust versus Severus!**


End file.
